Faith, Hope, and Charity
by Deliwiel
Summary: This is a retelling of the classic series episode Faith, Hope, and Charity. Obviously things are going to be changed, but that's a retelling for ya! MacGyver and Jack are running from men who want to kill them when Mac lands himself in something rather painful. Rated T for injury description, and I'm paranoid ;)
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey hey hey! Finally, the first chapter of the retelling is up! *Jack impersonation from the first episode* Who loves ya, babe? ;D**_

 _ **So if you've seen the classic episodes, I hope I can do this ep justice. If you haven't seen it, I hope it's a good first experience! XD**_

 _ **PS, the first chapter here is suuuuper long...it just didn't have a good place to end it until the end of the chapter, so it's a little over 4200 words I think...didn't think that would bother anyone too terribly ;)**_

 _ **Lemme know what you think!**_

 _ **I don't own either versions of MacGyver.**_

"Keep running!" Jack yelled at his partner as the two of them crashed through the woods.

"Come on, Jack, I was thinking I was going to stop and let the small, private army of Hunter Christiansen catch up and kill me. You're a spoilsport!" the young man shot back at his partner as he ducked a few low-hanging branches.

"Shut up," Jack panted somewhat grumpily at his friend.

Hunter Christiansen was a politician MacGyver and Jack had been sent to Colorado to observe and gather proof on. The Foundation had been following Christiansen for a while, gathering intel and trying to prove that he was dealing with known drug dealers and gang members to get his office and power. In exchange for their help, the law would turn a blind eye when it came to their...less than savory dealings. They would have just had Riley trace the money electronically, but it seemed that Christiansen only dealt in cash with them, and then he had it laundered so it became legit money that they couldn't trace back to the gangs.

Jack and MacGyver had followed Christiansen to a secluded spot in the woods, where they saw him meeting with a few leaders of the gangs and a few high-ranking drug dealers. While they were straining their ears to hear what was being said, MacGyver and Jack heard them mention the kidnapping of Christiansen to up the sympathy points for the upcoming election.

While the two agents were distracted by what they were hearing, two of the drug dealers had snuck up behind them. They had been grabbed and dragged forward, and were brought face to face with the corrupt politician.

 _Twenty Minutes Earlier_

" _Sir, what do we do with them?" the man in charge asked. Christiansen regarded the two agents with annoyance._

" _Dispose of them. Once word of my disappearance gets out and they don't return to work, I'm sure whoever these men work for will send out a search party. They'll find their bodies and they'll think they died trying to protect me," he said. MacGyver scoffed to himself, knowing full-well that Patricia Thornton wouldn't believe any such thing. The two agents were shoved forward, being forced to walk, but before they had gone half a dozen steps, Christiansen spoke again._

" _And Carter," Hunter said. Carter turned to look at the politician. "Make sure none of this connects back to me in a negative way," he warned._

" _Yes sir," Carter replied._

 _MacGyver and Jack watched as Christiansen walked away, and Carter came towards them. Two men were holding their arms behind their backs, so they were unable to do anything as he went through their pockets, pulling out their cell phones and Mac's swiss army knife. He also confiscated their backpacks, which had their sat phones and emergency supplies. One more search left Jack without his gun, as well as his backup, and the backup to his backup weapons. Once Carter had confiscated their belongings, the two were pushed forward once more, their arms still tightly held by thugs._

" _Come on," Carter said, jerking his head. MacGyver and Jack were led deeper into the woods, the trees growing thicker and thicker. "Make it quick," Carter ordered. "We've got more planning to do." He turned and strode away, leaving Jack and Mac in the hands of three of his men. The men holding the agents tightened their grips, trying to stop their prisoners from struggling._

 _The last man, who wasn't holding either of the agents, pulled out his gun and checked the magazine to see how many rounds he had left. While he was distracted, Jack stomped down on the foot of his captor, leaving the man in enough shock and pain that he let go of the older American, who promptly turned around and buried his fist in his captor's esophagus. When the man bent over with a wheeze, Jack's knee was introduced to his forehead, knocking him flat on his butt._

 _Mac took advantage of the distraction by yanking his arms out of his own guard's grip, which had loosened slightly when he started watching the fight between the duo next to him. As soon as Mac's arms were free, he turned and slammed his palms over the man's ears. The man dropped to the ground in agony, and the two agents took off running, zigzagging through the trees to avoid the bullets being fired in their direction._

" _GET UP!" they heard Carter roar. "Go after them!"_

 _MacGyver and Jack kept running, putting more and more distance between them and their would-be killers._

 _Present_

Mac looked behind him, trying to see if he could see any of the men following them, not watching where he was going. MacGyver was trying to look around to find anything that might be able to help him and Jack, who was about twenty feet ahead of him.

 _You know, people always say that there's a small moment of time when you get hurt before the pain sets in. Whoever said that was a liar._

While he was looking over his shoulder, he failed to notice the small bit of metal poking out from under the leaves. He put one foot down, and several things happened and once. MacGyver heard a _CLANG_ , and simultaneously felt an inexplicable, agonizing pain at the bottom of his calf, just a few inches above his ankle.

He let out a surprised shout of pain as he tripped and fell to the ground, clutching at his leg. He shut his mouth and had to bite down hard on his cheek to stop his agonized yells so that he wouldn't give away their position to the men hunting them. He vaguely heard Jack yelling his name, but everything was fading in and out as he fought with the burning feeling his leg was experiencing. His vision greyed out for a minute as he felt another tremor vibrate through his leg.

"Mac?" Jack asked in concern as he hurried back to his friend. The older American felt his stomach drop as he saw the blond on the ground, his face contorted in pain as he grabbed at his leg, which had a large trap biting the limb. "Aw crap," Jack muttered, hurrying to his friend's side and kneeling down next to him.

"Can…can you get it off?" Mac asked through gritted teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to ride out the pain. Jack quickly glanced over the trap, seeing the levers on the side.

"Maybe," he said. "I need you to set your foot flat on the ground bud," he said in an apologetic tone. Mac slowly moved his leg so that his foot was flat on the ground with his knee bent, all the while biting his lip as he felt every single movement cause the metal teeth on the trap to bite deeper and deeper into his leg. He tried to compartmentalize the pain, but it was overriding every single command his brain was giving.

"Okay, hold still," Jack warned before he began pushing down on the levers on either side of the trap. When he first started, there was an agonizing moment of fiery-hot pain that raced up and down his leg, and MacGyver couldn't help the groan of anguish that escaped his throat. Thankfully, soon after that the pain began to lessen. Mac looked at his friend and saw the trap slowly beginning to open.

Finally, Jack pried the jaw of the trap open, and MacGyver quickly pulled his leg out, wishing he had moved just a tiny bit slower as his vision blacked out for a moment due to the shocking amount of pain he felt. Jack tossed the metal monstrosity to the side as he hurried to his friend's side.

"Mac?" he asked in concern.

"We….gotta...go," Mac finally got out. He began pushing himself to his feet, but Jack put a hand on his shoulder.

"Whoa kid," he said. "Take it easy! We can't have you traipsing through the woods with open wounds like that," he said, pointing down to Mac's bloody pant leg. "Those wounds get infected and we got a big problem on our hands," he insisted.

"Jack, if those guys catch up to us, an infected leg isn't going to mean much, because we'll be dead!" MacGyver argued.

Jack knew the kid had a point, but he wasn't going to give up that easily. "At least let me wash it and wrap it so we don't get any dirt inside?" he offered.

Mac considered his partner's offer for a second before responding. "Just wrap it for now. We can worry about cleaning it when we get out of here," he insisted. "Besides, those guys took the backpack that had the water bottles in it. What would you clean it with?"

Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but first, his friend had a point about what he would clean the wounds with. Second, he knew pushing Mac too far would result in nothing, and Jack was just going to take the half-win. He knelt down and pulled off his shirt, leaving a simple white tee underneath.

"Holy crap, why is it so cold? Jack complained as goosebumps began appearing over his skin.

"Because it's Colorado in the fall," MacGyver said helpfully. Jack gave his friend an exasperated look as he finished tying the makeshift bandage around Mac's calf.

"Thank you, Captain Weather," he snarked as he stood up. "You're lucky," he said as he held out his hand to help the young man to his feet. "I think the trap was old; the springs looked worn and rusty, meaning it didn't shut as hard or as tightly as it could have, otherwise we would have a much bigger problem on our hands," he explained.

"Lucky me," Mac grumped. "It's not as bad as it could have been!"

The blond reached out and grasped his friend's hand, and Jack slowly lifted MacGyver up, a guilty pang echoing in the older man's gut every time he saw the kid lose more color in his face, or wince when the his leg was jostled, which was often. Once his partner was upright, Jack slung Mac's arm over his shoulder, ignoring the kid's protests.

"Jack, I can walk," Mac insisted as the two of them hobbled along the unbeaten path.

"Uh huh," Jack mused sarcastically, not even bothering to look at his friend as he answered. "Maybe if we had time to spare, I would let you demonstrate how you could keep up with me if I were in a wheelchair, but right now we have several angry kidnappers on our tail and I'd like to get us out of the woods," he said.

"Jack," MacGyver moaned, half from the physical pain he was in, half from what had just come out of Jack's mouth. "Was that pun intentional?"

Jack thought about what he had said, a grin splitting his face. "No it was not. But I'm taking credit for it anyways," he said proudly. MacGyver rolled his eyes, but stopped insisting he could walk. He didn't want to admit how much pain his leg was actually in. It was a miracle the trap hadn't snapped his leg like a twig.

"Where...are they?" Mac asked, sweat shining on his face after almost twenty minutes of walking.

 _I'll be the first one to admit that Jack and I were in deep trouble. We were out in the middle of the Colorado woods with a group of men coming after us to kill us. They got our sat phones and cell phones when they caught us, and even if we had our cells, there was absolutely no service whatsoever out here, so we really wouldn't have been able to call for help._

"I'm not sure, but isn't that a good thing?" Jack asked as he glanced back, making sure there wasn't anybody creeping up on them from behind. "I've always thought it was a very good thing when you're not being chased by homicidal kidnappers."

MacGyver didn't answer; he was too busy drawing in one deep breath after the next, trying to focus on anything but his leg. He zoned out and was simply focusing on putting no weight whatsoever on his injured leg, relying heavily on his friend to help him so he didn't fall down. He didn't realize Jack was trying to talk to him until the older man stopped walking.

"Mac?" Jack asked. MacGyver shook himself out of his zoned state and looked at his friend.

"What?" he asked, sounding slightly confused.

"I said it looks like there's a road up there, just a little ways. " Jack repeated, pointing off to the north. "Let's get over there and see if we can wave anyone down, find anyone who can help us."

"Sure," Mac said, not really opposed to anything at the moment. The two of them began walking again and after ten minutes, they finally made it to the side of the road. Jack looked up and down the stretch of asphalt, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders when he saw a car driving towards them. He waved his hand around like a crazy person until the driver pulled over.

The doors opened and two old women, probably at least in their late 60's or early 70's, got out of the car.

"Hey there," Jack greeted. "You wouldn't happen to have a cell phone, or know of anywhere that has a phone, would you? My friend and I could use a little help," he explained, gesturing slightly at his injured friend.

"Oh my lanta, what happened?" the driver exclaimed, hurrying over to the two men.

"Got his leg caught in an animal trap," Jack said. He looked over at his friend, noticing that the kid's head was drooping further and further down, his chin almost touching his chest. His breathing was abnormally slow, and Jack didn't like the fact that Mac's face had taken on the color of an eggshell.

"Oh Faith," the other woman said, coming over to them as well. "Those stupid poachers! Why, you're lucky your leg wasn't broken!" she informed Mac.

"So I've been told," the blond muttered tiredly.

"I'm Hope," the second woman continued. "And this is my sister, Faith," she added, pointing at the driver of the car. "We're the Lacey sisters, and we live just a few miles down the road. We don't have cell phones; that's too techy for us, but we have a landline that you can use, and I'll get your leg bandaged up in no time!"

"Hope's a nurse," Faith said proudly as she hurried over to the car and opened the back doors. Hope slipped Mac's other arm over her shoulder, and MacGyver protested slightly, not wanting to hurt the frail-looking woman.

"Now you stop that," she ordered, slapping his hand lightly as he tried to pull it away. "You need all the help you can get; that wound looks like it's bad," she added. MacGyver still tried to protest, but stopped abruptly when Jack flicked him in the forehead.

"What the…?" he asked, looking at Jack with an annoyed and confused look on his face.

"Just be nice," Jack mouthed, glaring at the kid. Mac glared back but relented, allowing the little old lady to help him to the car as well.

Getting into the car was a challenge in and of itself, because no matter how he sat, Mac's leg had some amount of pressure applied to it, and he just had to keep telling himself to breathe through the pain that he was feeling. Finally he was situated and Jack got in on the other side. As soon as his door was shut, Hope put the car into drive and pulled back into the lane.

"Now what were your names?" Hope asked as she looked in the rearview mirror.

"I'm Jack, and this is MacGyver," Jack introduced.

"Well don't you worry," Hope said. "We'll get you home and get your leg patched up in no time," she assured them. MacGyver looked down at the bandage over his leg, wincing as he saw blood seeping through it rather quickly.

"You wouldn't happen to have something to stitch the wounds shut with, would you?" Jack asked, also looking at his friend's leg. Hope turned back to Jack, then craned her neck to look at MacGyver. Jack felt slightly uncomfortable with having the driver's eyes off the road for so long, but he didn't see anyone else coming, and she soon turned back to the front.

"Oh my," she said, putting a hand to her chin. "We may need to call Leo," she said to Faith.

"Leo?" Jack asked. He was getting slightly worried about his friend. Mac's face had lost all of its color, and he winced or drew in a sharp breath every time the car hit a bump or a hole in the road.

"Leo's our friend," Faith explained.

"He's also a doctor," Hope clarified. "We'll call him and have him bring over what we need to help you, Mr. MacGyver," she said, reaching back and patting Mac's good knee.

"'Preciate it," Mac said quietly.

Soon they were pulling up to a quaint little two-story house, painted yellow and white. Faith pulled the car right up to the porch and turned off the car. Jack got out and hurried over to his friend's side of the car, gently helping him get out and draping his arm over his shoulders once again.

"Okay, steps are gonna be a little hard, bud," Jack warned. "You're gonna need to lift your bad leg up as much as you can, and then I'll help you hop up. Got it?"

"Got it," Mac said, gritting his teeth. The two men made it up the stairs one painstakingly slow step at a time, but finally they were on the porch and heading into the house.

"Now you just sit down right here," Hope insisted as she patted a large blue recliner. Jack gently lowered Mac into the chair.

"What were you boys doing out in the woods?" Hope asked as she fretted over Mac, getting him settled into the chair.

"Project on...endangered species," Mac grunted out. Jack raised an eyebrow behind the old ladies' backs, impressed with how quickly his young partner had come up with the excuse.

"Oh, a fellow animal lover!" Faith gushed.

"Yeah, and we really should be getting our findings back to HQ, shouldn't we, bud?" Jack asked, not trying to be subtle at all.

"He's right," MacGyver agreed, struggling to sit up. Hope pushed him back down, gentle but firm.

"Oh no you don't," she said. "You're not going anywhere until we can get that leg bandaged and get a doctor out here," she insisted. The two ladies hustled into the kitchen, leaving Mac and Jack alone for a few moments.

"Jack, we have to leave," Mac insisted.

"I know that!" Jack said. "But you're in no condition to go anywhere, my friend," he added sympathetically.

"If Christiansen's men catch up to us, Faith and Hope are going to be in danger!"

Jack considered his options for a moment and opened his mouth to respond, but just then Hope came back into the room with a wet cloth and several bandage wraps.

"I just got off the phone with Dr. Fife," she informed them. "He says he can be out here in two hours!" She beamed at the two of them, completely missing the slightly alarmed looks that were exchanged between the two men.

"Two hours?" Jack clarified, hoping he had heard wrong.

"Yes. Apparently the poor man has just been bombarded with people who have come in sick with the flu, and it's almost an hour's drive from here to town," she said. "But Leo said that I should make sure the wound was cleaned and bandaged, otherwise infection could set in." In addition to bandages, Hope also came in bearing over-the-counter painkillers, which she handed to MacGyver, giving him a glass of water and staring him down until he swallowed the pills.

"Smart man, Leo," Jack muttered, staring at his partner. Mac would have made a face back, but just then Hope began cutting away the pant leg surrounding the wounds, and he had to grip the arms of the chair to brace himself against the onslaught of pain. He saw spots dancing in front of his vision as she laid the hot, wet rags across his leg.

The next thing Mac knew, he was waking up. He glanced wildly around and saw Jack sitting across the room in another chair. He looked around more calmly once he saw his friend, trying to remember where they were.

"Hey," Jack said as he stood up.

"Did I...did I pass out?" Mac asked in confusion.

"Yeah. Right after she started cleaning out the wounds," Jack replied. MacGyver glanced down at his leg and saw that it had been heavily wrapped.

"How long was I out?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Just about forty minutes," Jack assured him. MacGyver nodded, glad it hadn't been longer than that.

 _Looking at my now-bandaged leg though and seeing the steadily growing red spots, I knew that I needed to have the wounds stitched closed soon._

"Did you call Thornton?" Mac asked, sitting up a little and wincing as it pulled on his leg slightly. Jack shook his head.

"Not yet. Faith and Hope have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off and they asked me to help them out with some heavy lifting," Jack explained. "I just now got away, and I saw you were starting to come around, so I figured I would wait here and let you wake up to a familiar face."

"I gotta be honest, when I woke up and saw your face, I thought I was having a nightmare," Mac informed his partner sarcastically.

"Aw c'mon man, my face isn't that scary!" Jack insisted, making a face at his friend as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen, going for the phone.

"Hey, where _are_ Faith and Hope?" Mac asked, glancing around as he looked for the nice old ladies while Jack grabbed the landline.

"They said something about needing to grab something from the barn," Jack replied as he walked back into the room with the phone. "Hey, is Patty's number 7869 or 7689?" he asked as he went to punch in the number to their boss.

MacGyver looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you saying you don't know her phone number and I do?" he asked snarkily.

"Hey, with all this technology today, it's hard to remember numbers because it's so easy to put them in your phones," Jack defended.

"Yeah, but isn't it supposed to be millennials who can't remember anything because we're too wound up with technology?"

"Yeah well you're not a regular millennial, are you?" Jack shot back. "Would you just tell me what the last four numbers are?" he asked, slightly exasperated.

"7689," Mac clarified with a grin. He watched as Jack punched in the numbers and put the phone up to his ear.

The front door opened and Faith and Hope walked in with some blankets in their hands, as well as an old crutch that looked like it wouldn't hold up to the first bit of weight that was put on it.

"We brought you some blankets to keep warm," Faith said as she draped one across Mac's lap. He tried protesting, but he knew it wouldn't do him any good, so he just sat there, picking at the wool fabric as the two women fussed over him. "We also found this crutch Grandaddy kept in the barn," she added as she set the ancient looking walking aid next to Mac's chair. MacGyver smiled and nodded at the sisters, grateful when Jack began talking so that he wouldn't have to respond. Faith and Hope beamed at the young man and walked out of the room to get more supplies for their wounded guest.

"Heya Patty," Jack said, a relieved look crossing his face when their boss finally picked up her phone. "So uh, things went a little sideways," he stated. He listened for a moment, then continued talking. "Well, we ran into a bit of a snag," he explained. "We stumbled upon Christiansen and some men meeting and talking about planning his own kidnapping, and we were grabbed. Mac and I got away, but while we were running, Mac-" Jack broke off, pulling the phone away from his and giving it a strange look. "Patty?" he asked, talking into the phone again.

"Jack?" MacGyver asked, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. "What's going on?"

"I dunno man," Jack said, punching a few buttons on the phone. "The call just dropped. I'm not getting anything," he informed them.

"Is everything alright?" Faith asked as she and Hope came back in with a glass of water and more blankets. MacGyver opened his mouth to reply, then shut it when he thought he heard something moving outside.

"Jack," he hissed. His partner looked up from the phone, and Mac gestured towards the window. "See what's going on out there," he instructed.

Jack crouched down slightly and peered through a crack in the curtains before drawing back quickly, biting back a curse.

"What is it?" MacGyver asked. Jack looked at his friend.

"We got company."

 _ **Aaaaand now I really gotta run to class otherwise I'm gonna be late XD Lemme know what you think! (Also, if you caught inconsistencies, let me know. I Switched the sister's roles around a couple times, and while I think I caught everything, no one is perfect!)**_

 _ **Have I ruined the classic ep yet? ;)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey hey hey! (Sorry, I honestly don't know why I greet like that XD I always used to say it, and then my sister showed me Warehouse 13, and Pete says that as well, so now whenever I say that all I can here is him saying it in my head...)**_

 _ **Here is the second chapter! Lemme know what you guys think? Not sure if I like the parts with Thornton and Riley...I feel like they're slightly OOC, but I'm not sure why or how to fix it... I'm tired XD**_

 _ **Anyway! That was a crazy good episode last night, I loved it! No spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet, but I thought it was great.**_

 _ **Lemme know what you think!**_

 _ **Nope, not mine**_

"Jack?" Patricia asked. Their phone conversation had been cut off abruptly, and Jack sounded like he had been about to tell her something important about MacGyver. She hit redial, but all she got was an annoying monotone sound no matter how many times she called.

"What's goin' on?" Riley asked, staring at her boss in confusion.

"I need you to track down this number," Thornton replied, handing her phone over to the hacker. "The call with Jack dropped and I can't get back in touch with him," she said. "Something doesn't feel right."

"Are they okay?" Riley asked as she pulled out her laptop and sat on the chair, bringing up the tracking system she always used.

"I don't think so," Thornton said, chewing her lip like she did when she was thinking, staring at the large black screen in front of her. "Jack said something about the mission being a bust, he and MacGyver were grabbed, but they got away." she explained. "He was saying something about MacGyver when the call was dropped."

"Okay, this shouldn't take too long to pull up," Riley promised.

"You have the number in your system now?" Patricia asked after a moment.

"Um, yeah. Why?" Riley replied.

"I need to make a call," Thornton stated as she bent down and picked up her phone from off the table where Riley had deposited it. She hit a few buttons, then held the phone to her ear. "Get me in contact with Hunter Christiansen," she ordered the person on the other end of the phone call.

 _0-0-0_

"Mr. MacGyver, what is going on?" Faith asked when she saw Mac's face fall at Jack's announcement of their guests.

"Uuuuhhhh," MacGyver said, looking at his partner for help.

"You figure out how to keep them out, I'll explain," Jack assured his partner.

"I'm gonna need your help moving things around," Mac argued.

"Are you saying I can't talk and move things at the same time?" Jack asked, pretending to be offended. Mac rolled his eyes but let the argument drop. He zoned out his partner's explanation to the two older women, letting his eyes roam the parts of the house he could see. He saw several large bookcases, and he immediately began fighting his way to his feet.

"Mr. MacGyver, you can't!" Hope insisted. Mac threw off the blanket and picked up the decrepit crutch, putting it under his shoulder. He was glad to see that it was basically his height, so he didn't have to bend down or reach too far up to use it.

"We need to move those bookcases in front of anywhere they could get in," Mac instructed, pointing at the wooden furniture and ignoring Hope's insistence that he sit back down. "Is there anything else heavy that we could use as blockades?" he asked. The two women looked at each other, the simultaneously pointed to the thick oak table in the middle of the kitchen. "Perfect," MacGyver said.

He began hopping forward with the help of the crutch, but before he had gone two steps he heard an ominous creaking noise. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he glanced down and saw the crutch snap in half, causing him to lose his balance. He fell forward, seeing the floor rushing up to greet him. His nose would have had an unfortunate encounter with the hard tile if a strong pair of hands had not grabbed the back of his shirt, stopping his fall and hauling him back up.

"Thanks," he said, sort of breathlessly to Jack.

"I got your back, kid," Jack said, throwing a wink in after Mac glared at him for his pun. MacGyver looked down at the broken piece of the crutch he still had in his hand, then back up to Faith and Hope.

"Sorry about the crutch," he said, shrugging helplessly.

"It's fine," Faith assured him. "That was Granddaddy's, we should have known it wouldn't hold up."

"But I do wish you would sit back down and keep your leg up," Hope added, giving Mac a slight pout. He shook his head.

"I can't," he said. He turned his attention to Jack. "How many men did you see out there?"

"Just the one, but I can guarantee he's not alone," Jack said as he moved one of the large bookcases in front of the door. While Jack was dragging the piece of furniture, Mac heard him begin humming what sounded vaguely like "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Mis.

MacGyver's eyes landed on a sturdy-looking coat rack and he hopped on one foot over to it, placing his hand on the wall to keep himself steady. He glanced back at the women, gesturing to the rack. "Mind if I modify this a little?" he asked.

"I...I guess that's fine," Hope agreed in confusion. Without waiting another second, Mac grabbed the long stick and turned it over, hitting two of the curved feet on opposite sides until they fell off, creating another crutch with the remaining two feet. He propped it under his arm, much more comfortable with how sturdy it felt, and he began moving around the room.

"Where's your bathroom?"

Faith pointed down the hallway and Mac began making his way to where she was pointing.

"Mac, is this really the best time to be taking a potty break?" Jack called out, grunting as he dragged the oak table across the floor, placing it against the back door.

"Jack, we're about to come under siege and you think I'm taking time to go to the bathroom?" Mac asked incredulously as he hopped back into the room, carrying a plunger.

"Well, what were you doing then?"

MacGyver held up the plunger, as if that was supposed to explain everything.

"Care to elaborate?" Jack asked. Mac hopped over to the window, making sure to stay to the side of the glass pane, thus staying out of the view of whoever was outside.

"If we can block the window at an angle, even just a little bit, they're going to have to move this in order to get in if they want to come through the window. That should help buy us a little time, even if it's just a few seconds," Mac explained as he suctioned the plunger against the window pane, propping the wooden handle against the opposite side as far down as it would go without snapping.

"Aren't you clever!" Faith praised as she and her sister watched the young agent. "If only I were forty years younger!"

Mac's eyes went slightly wide as he looked at Jack, who was trying his hardest to hold back a snort of laughter.

"Mr. MacGyver?" A voice from outside called. "Mr. Dalton? We know you're in there!"

MacGyver and Jack's faces took on a serious expression as they listened to the demands of the men trying to kill them. They must have found their ID's in their wallets, which had been in their pockets, therefore taken when they were grabbed.

"Come out now, and we won't hurt whoever else is in there with you!" the voice promised. MacGyver recognized the person speaking as Carter, the man in charge of the whole thing. He and Jack had a silent conversation through their expressions, which Faith and Hope seemed to catch onto rather quickly.

"Don't even think about it," Hope scolded.

"You two wouldn't be in danger if we hadn't dragged you into this, and if we had told you the truth about what we were really doing up front," MacGyver argued.

"Well I guess that teaches you a lesson about telling the truth, doesn't it?" Hope replied, not actually sounding too upset about the lying. "Besides, you've moved all our furniture around. We're gonna need help moving it back, and honestly. What good would it do to give yourselves up after all that work and struggle?"

"At least you two will be safe," Jack pointed out, starting to move towards the bookcase blocking the door.

"Leave that right where it is, young man," Faith ordered. Jack immediately stopped moving, eyes wide with surprise and slight admiration at how firm the two women were being. Faith looked at her sister. "Hope, didn't Granddaddy always used to joke about a tunnel that led from the house to the barn?" she asked.

"That's right! He said that he would put us in there if we didn't finish our dinner!" Hope exclaimed, eyes lighting up as she remembered the story.

"A tunnel?" Mac asked in clarification.

"Yes!" Hope confirmed, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Granddaddy told us the tunnel used to be for smuggling gold, but I think it was just there for the winters when they had to get to the barn but didn't want to go outside," she mused. "Faith and I were never allowed to go down there, and then we grew up and moved away. By the time we came back, both of us had completely forgotten about it!"

"Do you know where the entrance is?" Jack asked, coming over. Faith and Hope looked at each other, each trying to remember.

"MacGyver!" shouted Carter outside. "I'm going to give you two minutes to get out here, or else we're coming in to get you two. We know one of you is injured, and the house is surrounded; there's nowhere to run!"

"Oh!" Faith exclaimed suddenly. "I remember! It's downstairs, hidden in the closet of Granddaddy's room," she assured them. "Come on, the stairs are this way!"

Mac's heart sunk a little at hearing the word 'stairs,' but he decided he'd address that problem in a minute. There was one more thing he needed to do before they headed downstairs.

"Do you have a mop and some cayenne pepper?" he asked.

"Yes, they're in the kitchen," Hope replied.

"Could you bring them to me, and get the mop slightly wet?" he requested. Hope hurried to the kitchen, and they heard the water running.

"What are you going to do with these?" Hope asked as she came back with the needed items.

"Well, we need some sort of weapon," Mac responded as he turned the mop upside down and dumped the spice into the mop tendrils, turning the cleaning tool a terrifying red shade. He handed it to his older partner. Once the mop was in Jack's hands, Mac gestured for the two women to lead the way.

 _0-0-0_

"This is Hunter Christiansen," a smooth voice came on the other end of the line.

"Where are my men?" Thornton asked, not bothering with a preamble.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" he asked. "I don't know who you're talking about," he said, sounding rather convincing. Thornton wasn't buying it though.

"Two of my agents went missing recently. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Listen, I don't know who you are, or what agents you're talking about. Is this the FBI? CIA? Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that two of my agents are missing, and their last known location was right around your area," Thornton said in a terrifyingly calm voice, not wanting to admit to having her agents stalk the man. At least, not yet.

"Look, I wish I could help you, I really do," Christiansen said, very _un_ convincingly. "But I just don't know how. Now, I don't believe I caught your name," he added.

"That's because I didn't throw it," Thornton replied levelly. "I know my men were out there, and I can promise you, if something has happened to them because of you, trust me. I will find you and I will bring everything I find can against you," she threatened.

"You're sales tactics could use a little work. Why don't you work on it, and then pitch me something that sounds believable?" Hunter shot back, losing all of his smooth demeanor.

"I would, but unfortunately for you," Thornton replied in a scathing tone that still managed to sound polite somehow. "I don't play little league."

Thornton caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and she turned to see Riley waving at her.

"Got it," Riley mouthed.

"Well, Mr. Christiansen, I'm sure we'll be talking again, soon," she said with fake politeness before she hung up on the corrupt politician.

"Well?" she asked as she walked over to the hacker.

"I traced the call from the phone Jack used to a little spot in Colorado woods. Looking at satellite images, it looks like there's a small piece of farmland," she explained. "I also ran a trace on Christiansen's cell and put a tracker on his phone. We'll be able to see wherever he is now," the hacker added.

"Alright," Thornton said. "Call the Colorado Police and get them out to the house. We're wheels up in ten. Let's go."

 _ **Eh, like I said. Not sure how much I like the parts with Thornton, but we'll see how it plays out.**_

 _ **Whatcha guys think?**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Oh you guys are so lucky! I decided to combine two chapters today and give you a bit of action instead of cutting it off where I was planning, making you wait for the action until my next update... Who loves you guys? ;)**_

 ** _Enjoy!_**

 ** _Nah, they ain't mine :/_**

They hurried through the house, finally coming to the stairs. Faith opened a door, revealing the steep, rickety-looking staircase. "Ladies first," Jack said, motioning for the sisters to go down. They began their descent and Jack turned to his partner. "Mac, I know you're a strong, independant agent who don't need no help from Jack, but seeing as how we have an angry group of homicidal kidnappers on our tail, I'm not taking no for an answer."

Without waiting for his friend to respond, he took the kid's arm and swung it around his shoulders, practically lifting Mac off his feet. After making sure the crutch was still in his partner's hand, he took off down the stairs. He made sure that he was moving slowly enough that Mac's leg didn't bang against the stairs, but quick enough that they made it down the stairs just a few moments after Faith and Hope got off the last step.

MacGyver glared at his partner slightly as Jack released his arm, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he continued following behind the sisters as they made their way through the musty tunnel, glad the improv crutch was working so well.

The tunnel itself was narrow; no more than two people walking shoulder-to-shoulder could fit through, and it was only slightly taller than Jack. The beams above them looked like they were rotting; there was creaking and slight groans that seemed to emanate from the wood. There was no light, and all four of them stumbled their way single-file through dark until they finally came to a door. Mac heard one of the women jiggle the handle, but he assumed it was locked after hearing her mutter frustratedly under her breath.

"Oh crud," she muttered.

"What is it, Hope?" Faith asked.

"It's locked," Hope explained. MacGyver felt Jack's hand on his shoulder gently pushing him to the side as the older agent moved forward.

"Do you have a key?" Jack asked.

"No, I left the key ring upstairs in the kitchen," Hope said apologetically. Everyone looked up at the ceiling, where they heard stomping and yelling.

 _So the crazy homicidal kidnappers are inside the house. It's only a matter of time before they find the door leading down here. Faith and Hope have nothing to do with this; we have to find a way to keep them safe._

"Do you mind if I…?" Jack asked as he nodded at the door, not wanting to damage the property without permission.

"No, please," Hope encouraged. Jack handed the mop off to the woman, who finally found it in the dark and accepted it. Jack cracked his neck, then lifted his foot, preparing the ram it into the wood. MacGyver sensed what he was doing before it happened.

"Wait!" Mac insisted before Jack could break down the door.

"What?" Jack asked, glancing back at his friend even though he couldn't see anything except an outline.

"We're probably gonna want to be able to close that door once we're in there," the blond pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Jack responded. MacGyver could just picture his partner squinting at the door whilst trying to think of a way to get through. "Think you can pick the lock?" he asked after a minute.

"Do either of you ladies have a pin?" Mac asked Hope and Faith.

"I have a bobby pin," Faith offered.

"Do you mind if I have it?" Mac asked. "You won't be getting it back, but I can get you another one once we get out of here," he promised.

"Of course," Faith said. They fumbled around in the dark until their hands brushed each other and Faith passed off the hairpiece. Mac balanced himself on one leg; he was still using the crutch, but he couldn't hold onto it anymore since he needed both hands to pick the lock. He bent the pin and broke it at the bend, and he stuck the two pieces in his mouth as he hopped over to the door. He felt around until he found the handle, then he inserted the two pieces of metal into the lock. He was keeping his injured leg elevated by bending his knee, but he was wobbly, and whenever he wobbled, it sent a sharp pain through his leg. He was therefore extremely happy when he finally heard the lock click open and he could put his weight back on the crutch and use it for support.

They passed through the door and entered the small room, which Mac assumed was under the barn. There was a small amount of light streaming in from somewhere above them, so they were able to see a little bit more, though not by much. Mac looked and to his relief he saw the outline of a small kerosene lamp sitting on a bench. He felt around on the same shelf as the lantern, searching for matches. Finally his fingers stumbled onto the little wooden sticks and he leaned on his makeshift crutch, trying to get more stability as he attempted to light the matches. He got one lit and before it could burn out, he quickly inserted it into the glass covering.

"Let there be light," Jack said quietly, leaning against the mop as Mac turned up the kerosene.

"I'm just glad there was some oil still left in it, and that it's burning," Mac admitted. "I don't know how much is left though, so we need to come up with a plan soon," he reminded them.

"Well, we're all ears," Jack replied. MacGyver looked around the room with his newly acquired lantern, taking in everything he could see. He saw stairs, which confirmed his suspicion that they were actually under the barn. He noticed a hand-held saw sitting in the corner, as well as a toolbox next to it on the ground and he turned to Jack.

"We need to work fast, and I'm going to need all of your help," he said, looking at the two women as well. "But I have an idea that should hopefully work."

"Hopefully?" Jack repeated. "Nothin' a little stronger than 'hopefully'?"

"Sorry man," Mac said. "The only thing that I know for sure is that those men will find the tunnel, and they will catch up with us," he insisted. "You gonna help me with my idea or what?"

"You know me, man, I trust ya," Jack said as he nodded.

"Good. Grab that saw and the tool box," he instructed. He was moving the lantern around and the light fell on an old fishing rod. "Grab that fishing pole too!"

They all exited the room, and Mac explained his plan as Jack propped the mop against the wall. The older man then took the saw and began sawing through the beams above them while Faith and Hope took all the tools out of the metal tool box. While they were doing that, MacGyver took the fishing rod and began unwinding the string from the reel.

 _0-0-0_

They all stood back and looked at their handiwork. Jack had sawed through the support beams almost the whole way, so that when their pursuers stepped on the fishing wire that Mac had attached at different angles, basically the whole ceiling would come crashing down, bringing with it all the heavy metal tools that had been in the tool box.

"Mac," Jack hissed suddenly. MacGyver looked away from the fishing pole, which he was currently fixing to flip at whoever tripped the trip wire. He made eye contact with his friend and listened. He heard a door open, and voices shouting, getting closer and closer; he knew they only had a matter of time before the men reached them, so he turned and nodded urgently at the group. The four of them backed into the room as the men hurried down the tunnel with flashlights, which were bright enough and numerous enough that it lit up the tunnel quite nicely.

 _On the one hand, this is great. We finally have light enough to see around us. The only downside? Those flashlights came attached to some very angry men. I guess people would call this a win/lose situation?_

"Back," Mac muttered. "Get to the stairs," he instructed, motioning at the staircase that led up to the ground floor of the barn.

 _If we're lucky, they won't think the barn has anything to do with this and they'll all be in the tunnel._

They all turned and headed for the stairs, Jack taking the lead while MacGyver came behind, sandwiching the two women between them. There was a loud clatter, and suddenly a string of curses was heard from the small group. A loud rumble indicated that the ceiling of the section they had booby trapped was now falling down, and Mac couldn't help the grin that came on his face as he heard shouts coming from the men chasing them.

Suddenly, light was pouring into the room as Jack opened the trapdoor leading up to the barn. "Yeah buddy!" the older man exclaimed quietly. Mac heard rattling on the door leading to the tunnel; he had temporarily sealed it shut with some more of the fishing wire wound around the knob, then around a support beam near the door, but he knew it wouldn't hold long.

"Escape now, celebrate later?" Mac asked, nodding his head for his partner to continue moving. "That door isn't gonna hold forever!"

Jack didn't say anything, but he did move forward after once again handing the mop off.

Once Jack was out of the cellar, he turned around and held out his hand to help Faith out, who was next in line.

He had just gripped the lady's hand when he felt something hard press into his back. He stiffened and let out a disgruntled groan. Faith's eyes widened at the sight of the man holding a gun to Jack's back, and she placed her free hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"Get back down there, nice and slow," the man with the gun said. Jack hung his head in annoyed defeat, glancing upside down and seeing that there were three other men besides Carter in the barn. He nodded his head for Faith to start making her way back down the stairs.

"Jack, what's going on up there?" Mac called out, glancing back at the door, which was rattling on its hinges.

"Sorry Mac," Jack said. MacGyver looked back towards the trap door, confused to see his partner coming back down the stairs. The confusion didn't last long though as he saw Carter coming down the stairs behind Jack, a gun pointed straight at his partner. Carter's eyes had a hard gleam of triumph in them, and MacGyver quickly had to hop off the two stairs he had managed to get up.

When he landed, his vision grayed out for a moment and the world spun around him, but he felt two pairs of hands grab him before he could fall; one was a lighter grip, but still steady and firm, while the other he recognized immediately as his partner's hands. When his vision finally adjusted back to normal, he saw Hope was the other one grabbing him. Mac looked around, noticing the mop had been discarded against the wall of the cellar.

A large _CRASH_ alerted the small group that the door to the tunnel had finally been breached, and a dozen or so men swarmed into the small room, their flashlights lighting up the area well enough that MacGyver could make out not only the face of one of the men who had a thin welt across his cheek from the fishing pole, but also the smug look on Carter's face quite well. Carter looked at Mac's leg and he nodded in understanding.

"We wondered which one of you was hurt," he said. "It wasn't a hard leap to assume one of you was injured after we found the bloody trap you left in the woods," he explained. "Then it was simply a matter of tracking through the forest. Once we got to the road it was a little more difficult, but this is the only house out here for miles," he finished.

"Congrats," MacGyver said sarcastically. "You've mastered the power of deduction."

Carter sneered at the young blond, then nodded at one of his men. "Tie 'em up," he instructed. His men hopped into action, grabbing for their four prisoners.

When the men moved towards the group, Jack grabbed the mop he had braced against the wall and swung it around, managing to whack one of the men in the face before the tool was yanked away from him. The man who had received the face full of cayenne pepper began howling and rubbing at his eyes, only making the pain worse.

"Get ahold of yourself!" Carter ordered. He turned to Jack with a furious look in his eyes.

"That was my idea," MacGyver stated before Carter could do anything to Jack.

"No, it was definitely mine," Jack argued, giving his partner a look that was warning him to back off and not try to protect Jack by taking credit for the weapon. Carter looked between the two of them before shrugging slightly.

"It doesn't really matter I guess," he said. "You'll both get what's coming to you soon."

The men brought out ropes and began tying Faith and Hope's hands together. "What would your mother think, treating a woman like this?" Faith asked in a scornful tone. "Shame on you!"

"Sit down and shut up," Carter ordered harshly, raising his hand to hit the woman. Mac jerked out of his captor's grip and hopped in front of the Faith, ignoring the pain that the motion sent through his leg. "Don't. Even. Think about it," he growled.

"Really?" Jack asked as he struggled against the men holding him. "You're cowardly enough to hit an older woman?" he asked scathingly.

Carter didn't reply, simply nodding at his men to continue. MacGyver was grabbed once more, and Faith and Hope were pushed to the floor, where their legs were tied together at the ankles.

Once the women were secure, Carter's men began restraining Jack. It took five men to do the job. Two people had to hold his arms behind his back, and when they shoved him to the ground, it took another two people to hold him down while the last person actually did the binding of his wrists, ankles, and knees. Once Jack was trussed up like a prize pig, they moved onto MacGyver.

They first took his crutch away, leaving the young man wobbling slightly before hands gripped his arms tightly. They then yanked his hands behind his back and wound the ropes around so tight that Mac began to lose feeling in his fingers within thirty seconds. He too was forced to sit on the ground, and they began tying his ankles together.

"Seriously?" Jack complained when he saw what they were doing, and saw his partner's pained expression. "He can't walk without the crutch that you took away from him," he insisted.

"We're not taking any chances," Carter stated simply. Mac hissed as they tied the knots tightly around his legs, and for a moment all he heard was static as the world once more tilted at a dangerous angle.

"Mac?" Jack asked as he watched his friend's face lose what little color it had gained back and he began tipping to one side, a vacant expression on his face. "Mac!"

That seemed to shake the young man out of his trance a little bit. He shook his head and looked around, finally making eye contact with Jack.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

"Just peachy," grumbled his partner.

"Shut up," Carter snapped. "Let's just get this over with," he said, pulling out his gun.

"Just let the women go," Jack insisted.

"They aren't a threat to you," MacGyver added, struggling against his ropes a little.

"Au contraire," Carter said, examining his gun with a loving expression. "They've seen our faces," he reminded them. "You two doomed them the minute you decided to try and fight instead of just coming quietly."

"We wouldn't let them leave!" Hope said bravely.

"Well then you doomed yourselves," Carter said with a shrug. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" Carter aimed his gun at Jack.

"Wait!" Jack yelled, squinting his eyes closed and turning his head. "If you kill us here, how is the press gonna find out about us dying to 'protect' Christiansen? They'll find Faith and Hope too, and wonder what two ladies were doing in the whole scheme!" he pointed out.

 _Jack and I both knew that was a really weak argument, but it seemed to buy us a small amount of time as Carter seemed to be reconsidering their options._

"Can we get out that way?" Carted finally asked, indicating the door with the collapsed tunnel outside.

"No, especially not with Gimpy here," one of his men replied, jerking his thumb at MacGyver.

"Hey!" Mac said indignantly.

"It doesn't matter," Carter said. "Get them upstairs to the cars. Go through the barn," he ordered.

"What about the kid's leg?" one of the men asked.

"Do I look like I care about that?" Carter snapped. "I don't care how you get him up there! Carry him, make him walk, do something. Just get him to the car! I'll take care of the women," he said, eyeing Faith and Hope with distaste.

"Don't do it, Carter!" MacGyver said in almost a begging tone. "They don't have anything to do with this!"

"Shut up," Carter ordered, levelling his gun at MacGyver as the young blond was hauled up. "Or I'll put a bullet in your other leg," he threatened. MacGyver glared at the man.

"Is that supposed to scare me? You're just gonna kill us anyway!" he shot at Carter as one of the lackeys picked him up in a bear-hug-esque grip, lifting him off the floor and walking towards the stairs. MacGyver grunted as the air was squeezed out of his lungs and his leg hit his captor's leg.

"We may be going to kill you, but I can make it last a painfully long time," Carter growled. Someone wrestled Jack to his feet and cut the ropes binding his ankles and knees. "Try anything and I'll shoot the women in front of you," Carter threatened Jack, pointing his gun at Faith and Hope, who both bravely stared at the face of their captor, unflinching.

"You're just big bullies!" Hope said crossly.

"Just look at it this way," Carter smirked. "I'm the last bully you'll have to deal with."

"And you think that's supposed to make us feel better?" Faith asked incredulously.

"Carter!" MacGyver shouted, a little breathlessly as he was hauled towards the stairs. "Leave them alone!"

"Get them out of here," Carter snapped. The men complied, dragging MacGyver and Jack out of the cellar of the barn. Jack was dragging his feet, resisting as much as he could, but the man who was pulling him was just as big as the Phoenix agent, and Jack's captor finally won the upper hand, getting Jack to the stairs. MacGyver and his guard were already halfway up the stairs when they all heard a call.

"Faith? Hope?" they heard someone yell out.

"Leo!" gasped Faith. Carter immediately placed one of his hands over her mouth, shushing her with his gun instead of a finger to his mouth. One of the other men covered Hope's mouth too, and the men holding MacGyver and Jack shushed their patients as well.

"Come on Carter," one of the men complained quietly. "We're already adding these two to the list, you're not gonna make us add someone else, are you?"

"Shut up," Carter hissed. "I'm thinking."

" _Don't hurt yourself,"_ Mac wanted to say, but the hand covering his mouth prevented him from doing so.

After almost a minute had passed, and they couldn't hear Leo wandering around anymore, Carter motioned for his men to begin moving again.

MacGyver and Jack didn't make it easy for the men to move them up the stairs. They didn't resist, knowing it would only end badly for Faith and Hope; they still believed the two women might have a chance, so they weren't going to do anything to mess that up. They may not have resisted by pushing back, but they definitely made it more frustrating and difficult than it had to be.

Jack kept "tripping" up the stairs, crashing into the man holding MacGyver every now and then, which the older agent actually felt bad about, because he could hear MacGyver's pained inhales. While Jack was demonstrating his wonderful coordination skills, the blond simply went slack, putting his full dead-weight in the hands of the man carrying him.

"Carter," hissed one of the men. "If the new guy is inside, he's gonna see the mess that these guys made when they moved all the furniture. He'll call the cops," he reminded the boss. Carter nodded.

"He probably will," he agreed. "But as long as we can get out of here before the cops get here, we'll be fine," he insisted. "Just get them out to the car!" he snapped, glaring at the men struggling up the stairs with the phoenix agents.

"If you want to come help with them," panted the man carrying the limp MacGyver. "You're more than welcome to!"

Carter glared at the agents, but before he could say or do anything, everyone froze as they heard the wailing of sirens, which were getting closer and closer. Carter cursed, leaving the two old women for a moment as he bolted up the narrow set of stairs, having to push aside the men holding the Phoenix agents to get up to the ground level of the barn. When Carter pushed past MacGyver's captor, the young blond's leg was kicked rather hard, and the young man had to focus on taking deep, steady breaths to avoid passing out.

Carter was only gone for a few moments before he stormed back down the stairs. "There's no way we're getting outta here," he informed his men as he shoved past the men on the stairs again, causing MacGyver a great deal of pain once more. "Get them back on the floor," he snapped. "We're not going anywhere."

 _ **See I was originally planning on leaving off where they had just begun building the booby traps, but I figured that would be a boring chapter, so I went ahead and combined it with the next chapter ;)**_

 _ **Thoughts? Man, Carter seems like such a prickly pear...someone needs to take a chill pill... XD**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hey hey hey! Chapter 4 is here!**_

 _ **Longer AN at the bottom :)**_

 _ **Not mine**_

As MacGyver and Jack were thrown back to the floor, someone else rummaged around on the shelves, finding old rags that they brought over to the prisoners.

"Don't think you can stick that in my mouth," Jack said, leaning back in disgust. "Who knows how old that thing is, or what kind of infections I could get from it!"

"Listen," Carter said in annoyance. "An infection is going to be the least of your worries when we're done with you. Actually, it'll probably _be_ your last worry by the time we're done with you," he added as an afterthought, earning a small chuckle from his men.

"Glad to see my death amuses you," Jack shot back. Opening his mouth though had given the lackey the perfect opportunity to shove the rag into Jack's mouth. Jack's face took on a look of pure disgust as he shook his head and moved his jaw around, trying to dislodge the gag any way he could. MacGyver was in a considerable amount of pain after being tossed to the floor and landing on his leg wrong, so he put up no fight when the rag was shoved into his mouth, though he did also make a disgusted face at the taste of the old piece of cloth. Hope and Faith knew better than to try and resist, though they did make several comments about how ashamed the men's mothers would be of them before they were silenced.

"So what are we doing?" one of the men asked. Carter scratched his head with the butt of his gun, then looked up the stairs at the door leading to the barn.

"Get anything you can to block the door from the barn," he directed. "We aren't letting those cops get down here. One more thing," he said as his men began to scuttle about and grab things to keep the door closed, including the cayenne pepper-soaked mop. "Christiansen said nothing ties back to him, but I'm not losin' my life for him," he said. "If that means using these guys as hostages so that we can get outta here, that's fine by me. Let Hunter's money stop a cop's bullet!"

His men all nodded in agreement, and MacGyver and Jack shared a look.

 _Well, at least that gives us a small opportunity to get out of here alive._

Jack looked at his friend, taking in all the small details of Mac's countenance. The young man's face was still pale, a slight shimmer of sweat glistening on his face. He was dragging in deep, ragged-sounding breaths through his nose. One glance at the bandages on Mac's leg showed Jack that they needed to get the wounds stitched up soon; the bandages, which had started out white, were now mostly red. Jack could also see dirt on the bandage, and he realized that the kid's leg was more than likely getting dirt in it as they sat there on the dirty cellar floor. His mouth slanted, thinking of how badly the kid's leg had to be hurting, and how badly they needed to get him somewhere that someone could properly take care of it.

"Hold it!" Carter suddenly called out. His men stopped what they were doing and looked at their leader. He crouched down next to Hope and pulled out a knife. MacGyver and Jack began yelling through their gags, but Carter simply sawed through the ropes around the woman's ankles, then motioned at her with his gun. "Stand up," he ordered. She stared at him in slight confusion, and he sighed. He leaned over and grabbed her bicep, pulling her to her feet, though not as angrily or as roughly as he could have. "You're coming with me on a quick trip," he informed her. Not caring about her shaking her head, he pulled her towards the stairs. "Get that unblocked," he barked at his men, who quickly began moving the few items they had managed to put in front of the door.

Once the stairway and door was clear, Carter placed the gun against the woman's head, earning a small whimper from both her and her sister, as well as death glares from MacGyver and Jack. Carter pushed the door open and walked into the barn. "Keep the door closed, but be ready to open it and re-block it as soon as I get back," he instructed before moving out of sight. He didn't move out of earshot though, and as everyone listened, they heard him begin talking with the cops outside.

"Afternoon," he called out. No one could hear the officer's response, but they were able to hear Carter's side of the conversation just fine. "Arty, huh? Good to know! No, I don't think we need any food. I just came to let you know that we've got more hostages where this one came from, and if we even think we hear someone trying to get in, I won't hesitate to kill every single one of them."

There was a pause, and Jack strained his ears, trying to hear anything the cops were saying. All he was able to hear was a disjointed muffle, then Carter's reply. "Demands?" he asked, sounding somewhat incredulous. "Yeah I got demands. How about you let us take these people and just leave?" Another pause, then Carter replied. "Alright, how about I leave you some hostages as a sign of good faith?"

Jack and MacGyver shared a glance. Was he seriously talking about letting Faith and Hope go? Jack figured since the cop had probably already seen his face, or identified him via the vehicles outside, Carter assumed they were already busted, and he just wanted to make as clean a getaway as possible.

"Can't do that either, huh?" they heard Carter respond. "Well then I guess we've reached an impasse. I'm going to take this sweet little lady back then, and when you've had time to think my offer over, you know where to find me. But remember: Any attempt to breach, and my men and I won't waste a moment. We _will_ kill every single hostage we have."

With that, the conversation was over, and Carter suddenly reappeared at the top of the stairs, still facing towards the police. As soon as he was inside, his men shut the door and barricaded it just like they had been ordered, and Carter walked with Hope down the stairs. They reached the bottom and he had her sit down again, right next to MacGyver. One of his men hurried over and tied her legs up again, then stood up and walked over to talk with Carter in hushed tones.

MacGyver looked at Hope with probing eyes, silently asking her if she was alright. Her eyes were wide and scared, but she nodded slightly, indicating that she was fine. MacGyver wasn't sure he fully believed her, but he decided he would let it go for now since he couldn't do anything about it being tied up.

"Well," Carter said, breaking apart from his little powwow. "Looks like we may be stuck here a while. Might as well get comfortable," he said, leaning against the wall.

"What is Hunter gonna do?" one of the men asked worriedly. "He's gonna flip out when he finds out we've been cornered."

"Leave Hunter to me," Carter assured his men. The next several minutes passed by with nothing happening besides hushed conversations between different members of the squad. MacGyver actually had no way of knowing how long everyone stayed where they were, but he felt like it was at least twenty minutes or more. Near the end of that time, Carter got on the phone with someone, speaking in such hushed tones that MacGyver and Jack couldn't even hear what his side of the conversation was about. He hung up after another few minutes, then beckoned for his men to gather around again.

"Hunter says no loose ends," he informed them, glancing over at their hostages.

"So we just kill 'em now and then what?" one of his men asked crankily. "We can't get outta here with all those cops outside!"

"Would you give me time to figure things out?" Carter snapped. "Like I said: I'm not dying for Hunter. He's not worth that much to me." The men continued talking, lowering their voices so that once again, the two agents couldn't hear what was being said. Finally Carter looked over at his hostages.

Carter walked over and crouched in front of them. "Now," he said. "I am _very_ curious to know how you two found us out," he stated. "Who are you two? Who do you work for?"

When the two agents didn't answer, Carter remembered he had gagged them. "Right," he said, reaching over and yanking the disgusting pieces of cloth out of their mouths. "Silly me. Now how about you answer my questions?"

MacGyver and Jack shared a glance, but once again refused to answer. At their silence, Carter sighed and put his hand on Mac's knee, right above where the bandages ended. Mac drew in a deep breath and stared straight ahead, trying to think about anything but the man with his hand precariously close to his injury. The wound had begun pulsing as soon as it felt pressure near it, and Mac tried to keep his breathing even so as not to agitate himself.

"Hey!" Jack growled as he watched Carter slide his hand down closer to his friend's wound, causing MacGyver's breathing to hitch slightly.

"Just tell me what I want to know," Carter pressured, staring at Jack with a hard look in his eyes. Jack stared at him for another moment and Carter's eyes went even colder than before, his hand slipping to rest on Mac's bandaged wounds. The young man couldn't help the yelp that escaped his mouth when the wounds were agitated by his touch, and Jack finally spoke.

"Alright!" he said angrily. "I'm not gonna try to convince you that we weren't here for you guys, because you're too smart for that," he said. "We're journalists, and we have an inside source that let us know that Christiansen may have been accepting money and bribes," Jack explained. He hoped by telling Carter that they were there to spy on Christiansen would help get him off their backs and buy the journalist story. "I mean, if you'll let us go, I promise we won't print the story," Jack added. Carter scoffed.

"Journalists don't carry around three guns and sat phones," he pointed out. Jack cursed internally.

"Maybe I just really like my protection," Jack snarked back.

"Or maybe," Carter said, scrunching his face up like it was hurting while he was pretending to think hard. "Maybe you two work for the FBI. I know people have had their eye on Hunter for a while, but we always thought they didn't have enough evidence to come after him."

" _Maybe he's not pretending. Maybe it actually hurts him to think,"_ Mac grumped inwardly, trying anything to distract himself from the pressure being applied to his wounded leg. He felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, and he clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the pain in his limb. His leg had begun twitching and shaking under Carter's hand, and Mac's breathing was becoming more ragged by the minute.

"Ya figured us out," Jack said sarcastically, pretending to praise Carter. "Maybe we found the evidence we need to bring him down!"

"I doubt that," Carter sneered. "We're extremely careful with how we handle any money that passes between us," he stated.

"Well then," Jack said, giving a painfully fake smile. "I guess we have no real evidence against you or Christiansen. Why don't you just let us go? It'd be our word against his," Jack offered.

"See, I could do that," Carter said, nodding his head in acknowledgement of Jack's suggestion. "Or I could use you four as a way to get out of here," he finished, standing up. As he stood, he pushed off Mac's leg, and Jack saw all the color drain out of his partner's face. He watched the young man squirm as he tried to instinctively bring his arms around to the front so he could grab his leg in an attempt to stop the pain.

"Get them up," Carter ordered, pointing at the two women. The men hurried to untie Faith and Hope's ankles. Carter snapped his fingers and one of his men handed him a familiar looking red knife, which Carter used to saw through the ropes on Mac's ankles. Carter slipped the knife into his pocket before reaching down and grabbing at Mac. The young man was pulled to his feet by the front of his shirt, and Carter grabbed the young agent's shoulder, intending to guide him towards the staircase that led up to the barn. Carter placed gun against Mac's head when the agent hesitated moving.

"He can't put any weight on that leg!" Hope insisted.

"Just let me help him up the stairs!" Jack yelled at the same time. Someone else had cut the ropes on his ankles, but aimed their gun at him to prevent him from actually getting up.

"Shut up!" Carter yelled over the both of them.

"Jack, I'll be fine," Mac said through clenched teeth. He put a bit of weight on his leg, hissing quietly and withdrawing his leg from the floor as the pain fired up. He took in a couple of deep breaths, grit his teeth, and once more slowly lowered his leg, putting a small bit of weight on it at a time. He finally believed he had the ability to limp along, and Carter nudged him with his gun.

"Walk slowly; no sudden moves and no one gets hurt," Carter warned in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, cuz I'm gonna be trying to sprint away," MacGyver said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Carter said again, shoving Mac towards the stairs, which caused the blond to grunt in pain and lean on the railing, trying to catch his breath.

"You like saying that," Jack observed as he was finally hauled to his feet. Carter didn't reply; he simply continued to follow behind MacGyver. The blond eyed the stairs with apprehension from his position against the railing.

"Look, can I just help him up the stairs? Just let him use me as a crutch?" Jack offered. Carter's eyes took on a murderous glint and he turned towards Jack while shoving his gun into Mac's back.

"Or I could just kill him now, how about that?" he asked angrily. "That way we wouldn't have to worry about a gimp slowing us down!"

"You'd have one less shield," Mac reminded him quietly. Carter took in several deep breaths to calm himself down, and Mac looked over at Jack. "Seriously Jack," he insisted. "I'll be fine." MacGyver turned back to look at the stairs looming before him. He knew Carter would say no to untying his hands, so the only way he could think of to get up the stairs was to turn his back to the railing, grab said railing with his bound hands, and hop sideways on one foot up the stairs.

He was sweating by the time he had made it up four stairs, and his arms were shaking with exertion. He still had six more steps to go, and he could tell Carter was getting impatient. By the time he got up the last step, he was shaking, both from exertion and from pain. Carter spun him to face the front, grabbing his shoulder again and making him walk forward, gun pressed against the back of the blond's head. MacGyver heard rustling noises behind him and he assumed the rest of the men were getting the women up as well.

"Eyes forward," Carter hissed into Mac's ear. "Don't look back, just keep walking."

MacGyver limped along the floor of the barn, doing what Carter ordered and keeping his eyes staring straight ahead of him. His leg was aching, begging him to stop moving, but Mac knew that wasn't an option.

"Curtis, get over here and open this door!" Carter ordered. One of the men hurried over and unblocked the large barn door, pulling it open. MacGyver heard the cops shouting to each other about 'having movement,' and he prayed he wasn't about to get shot. Right before they walked out into the open air, Carter shoved the rag back in Mac's mouth wrapped his arm around Mac's neck, pulling the kid closer to him and moved his gun from the back of MacGyver's head to his temple. MacGyver could feel the oily metal of the gun dig into the side of his head, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it without getting himself or his friends killed. "Let's go say hi," Carter whispered pleasantly before forcing Mac out the door into the bright light.

 _ **So? Thoughts? No one kill me please! *hides behind bullet proof glass BEHIND a large wall***_

 _ **Haha so when I posted this, I swear the story was almost done XD It ran away, dragging me behind it. Don't worry, you'll still get another update on Friday, I've gotten most of it written now, I promise, and I'll work at this one until it's done. *pinkie promises all of you***_

 _ **Also, I've sorta deviated from the plot of the original episode by now...hope that doesn't bother anyone?**_

 _ **Let me know what you think!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hey hey hey! (Gosh, I need to stop saying that XD) So since I love you all, I decided to post the next chapter tonight! I was trying to decide whether or not to combine this chapter with the next one again, but I decided not to. So you'll get this chapter tonight, and then tomorrow sometime you'll get the next chapter :D**_

 _ **Not mine, but I enjoy writing them immensely.**_

"Move," Carter hissed as the doors were opened. MacGyver took one halting step after another, trying to see around the spots dancing in front of his vision.

"Heya Arty," Carter called out.

"What are you doing?" a man, whom MacGyver assumed was 'Arty' asked.

"Getting outta here," Carter replied simply. "Now stand back or I'll put a bullet in him," he threatened, cocking the hammer on his gun to show how serious he was.

"You're outnumbered," Arty called out.

"Am I though?" Carter asked smugly. MacGyver saw Arty's eyes widen as he assumed the rest of Carter's men came out with the other hostages. MacGyver realized that the cops and Carter's men were pretty evenly matched in numbers, and his heart sank slightly as Carter directed him towards a sleek black car.

"You really think we're gonna let you get away?" Arty asked incredulously.

"Well, you could try and catch us," Carter offered. "But I can tell you right now that there are more hostages down in the cellar right now, surrounded by my men." MacGyver stiffened, craning his head to try and see behind him. Carter jerked the kid forwards and began speaking again. "If you follow us, or try to stop us in any way, one phone call from me is all it will take for my men to kill every other hostage down there," he threatened.

MacGyver saw the wheels in Arty's head spinning, and the blond desperately wished he could turn around and see if Jack, Faith, and Hope were actually behind him or not. Arty didn't say anything, but he didn't make a move to stop Carter as he reached one of the cars. One of Carter's men hurried around them and opened the door. Carter forced MacGyver into the car and climbed in behind him. Mac was shoved over to the far side of the car, grimacing as his leg banged against the driver's seat.

Mac looked out the windows, feeling relieved as he saw Jack being shoved into the car in front of them. The young man glanced around frantically, and he also saw Faith and Hope also being shoved into the last car.

MacGyver glanced back at the cops, noticing them start to move towards the cars slowly. Before any of the cops could do anything though, the cars with the hostages in them started. "Drive," Carter ordered. The car lurched forward, and MacGyver saw the cops begin to run for their own cars, intent on chasing the men with the hostages. MacGyver stared at Carter, who sighed, leaned over, and pulled the rag out of his captive's mouth.

"Looks like they didn't buy your bluff," Mac pointed out smugly. Carter shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. Everyone at the wheel are all professional drivers. Dennis here," he said, motioning to the man driving their car. "Is a former race car driver; Bush is a retired getaway driver, and Colin is a mechanic. Granted, that doesn't make him professional, but he knows his way around a car. Plus, that's why he's in the car with the old women, just in case he gets caught," Carter said with a condescending laugh.

MacGyver caught a small, almost imperceptible look from Dennis directed at Carter, and it wasn't a friendly look. The man in charge didn't seem to pay attention though; he simply continued to look out the back window at the police cars behind them. There were sirens wailing behind them, and MacGyver watched the chase. After a few minutes, Mac indeed saw the car that Hope and Faith had been shoved into being cut off by a cop car.

MacGyver felt like cheering. At least he knew Faith and Hope had the chance to be rescued now.

The car they were in slowed suddenly, brakes squealed. Carter got the murderous look back in his eyes again and turned to face Dennis, opening his mouth to yell at his driver, but when he turned to face the front, he saw why Dennis had slowed down.

A large black SUV had pulled in front of them, and Carter watched as a tall woman jumped out of the vehicle before it even stopped moving, levelling her gun at his car.

 _0-0-0_

Thornton and Riley were sitting in the backseat of the large SUV. There were three other cars behind them that were full of Phoenix agents, and they were heading towards the house Jack had made the call from. As they were speeding down the two-lane road, Riley stared at her computer, which had the map to the house pulled up.

"It's just a few more miles down the road," she informed the driver.

"Wait," Thornton said suddenly, leaning forward and pointing out the windshield. "What's that?"

Everyone looked to where Thornton was pointing, seeing several black shapes speeding towards them, getting larger every second. Riley saw several cop cars surround and block off one of the three black sedans speeding down the road, and she wondered if MacGyver or Jack were in either of those.

"Stop the car," Thornton ordered. "Block them."

"Ma'am, I don't know if they'll be able to-"

"I said stop the car," Thornton repeated forcefully. The agent driving didn't say anything else, but he did jerk the wheel, pulling their car into a horizontal position across the road, successfully blocking any cars that may have wanted to get through on either side.

Thornton jumped out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop, watching the approaching car get closer and closer. Riley got out of the car on the other side, watching with slight apprehension. One look at her boss though, and she felt better. She and Thornton heard the squealing of brakes as the car nearest to them began to slow down.

The head of the Phoenix Foundation brought her gun out of its holster and fired it at the approaching car. One of the bullets penetrated a front tire while another one worked its way into the grill of the car, immediately sending up smoke. The brakes continued squealing, and the car began swerving as the driver lost sight of the road, but the vehicle finally came to a stop a few inches away from the SUV blocking the road. Smoke swirled around the car, giving Thornton the perfect opportunity to sneak over to one of the doors.

 _0-0-0_

"Who is that?!" Carter yelled as the woman began firing her gun. All of the passengers in the car felt the vehicle lurch when one of the bullets sank into their tire, and Mac couldn't help the grin that crossed his face when he saw the smoke begin to rise from the hood of their car. "Stop the car! STOP THE CAR!" Carter yelled.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Dennis snapped back at his boss, slamming his foot on the brake. The three of them finally felt the car shudder to a stop, but before MacGyver could try to fight back, Carter once again wrapped an arm around the kid's neck and pulled him close, putting the gun to his head again. MacGyver struggled slightly, but his hands were still tied behind his back, and he was pulled in an awkward reclining position that made it more difficult to struggle. His feet were still on the floor of the car, making his injury throb, and his upper half was being pulled across the car like Carter was trying to force him to lay down.

MacGyver grunted as pressure was applied to his trachea, but before Carter could do anything else, the door MacGyver was facing was flung open. Mac was expecting to see the face of his boss coming through the smoke, but the face that actually appeared was that of the Phoenix's hacker, Riley Davis. She was pointing a gun inside the car, and MacGyver's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Let him go," Riley ordered. Carter laughed cruelly before responding.

"You do realize you're on the wrong side of the car?" he pointed out. "Your boy is in front of me. You can't shoot me without shooting him!"

"She can't," came a cool voice from behind him. "But I can."

MacGyver grinned as he realized what had just happened. Riley had been the distraction so that Thornton could get behind them without alerting Carter to what was happening. Mac felt Carter stiffen.

"Still a rough time getting me without hitting your man," Carter goaded, keeping his pompous attitude in place.

"If I were aiming for your chest or head, that may be true," Thornton conceded. A small _POP_ sounded, signifying that Thornton's gun had a silencer on it, which MacGyver was grateful for.

Carter screamed and let go of MacGyver, grasping his elbow. Riley immediately handed her gun off to one of the passing agents and reached into the car, grabbing Mac's arm gently. She began to pull him out while Thornton reached in and grabbed the back of Carter's shirt.

"Wait, wait," MacGyver said as Riley helped him sit up. "Just...let me sit," he requested. Riley nodded in understanding. She did untie his hands though, and he rubbed his wrists to get the circulation moving again. Another Phoenix agent hurried around to the driver's seat of the car, yanking open the door and hauling Dennis out to restrain him.

Carter was still moaning while clutching at his arm, and Thornton rolled her eyes as she handed him off to another agent. "Grow up," she admonished. "It could have been worse."

"Are you crazy?!" Carter yelled incredulously. "You shot my elbow!"

"Yes, I did," Thornton agreed.

"That was a nice shot," Riley said as she looked at Thornton with a subtle look of admiration. Thornton didn't respond, but she did have a slight smirk that ghosted across her face.

"Where's Jack?" MacGyver suddenly asked. Thornton and Riley looked back down the road, seeing the last car that hadn't been stopped. At least, not stopped by cops or Phoenix agents. They saw the car coming to a slow stop, and when the engine was cut, it was Jack who got out of the car. He was pointing a gun at the man who had originally held him hostage, and Thornton's eyebrow raised in slight amusement. More agents ran over to secure that driver as well.

"Gee Jack," Riley called out. "You had us worried, thinking you had been taken hostage."

"Well, they should have made sure I couldn't reach my thumb," Jack replied, holding up his hand and showing them his dislocated thumb, grimacing slightly.

"Ah, Jack!" Riley said in disgust. "Why?"

"Well, how else was I supposed to get my hands untied?" he asked with such a 'duh' tone. He blinked slightly and shook his head. "Also, I may have a concussion," he admitted.

"You head-butted them, didn't you?" MacGyver asked, shaking his head in disbelief and amusement.

"Maybe," Jack said sheepishly as he handed off the man he was pointing his newly acquired gun at. "It all kinda happened so fast. First, this punk kept shoving his gun in my back, and I got sick of it. As soon as I saw your car get stopped, I popped my thumb out of place and rammed my head into him. While he was distracted, I got my hands out, grabbed his gun and ordered the driver to pull over," Jack explained.

"Nice," was all MacGyver said, though he said it with a light chuckle.

Riley hurried over to the car that had Carter in it, addressing to the agent guarding him..

"Does he have his phone on him?" she asked. The agent shrugged, and Riley looked back at her boss. Thornton nodded her permission to search the man, and Riley quickly went through Carter's pockets, pulling out the cellphone triumphantly. She also pulled from his pocket a red Swiss Army knife, which she handed to Thornton to give back to MacGyver.

"You won't be able to get on," Carter said with a huff, his face still red and sweaty with the pain of being shot in the elbow. "It's got a triple encoded-"

"I'm in," Riley said, not even bothering to look up from the phone's screen. Jack chuckled at the look on Carter's face, and even MacGyver cracked a smile.

"We can give you a pass since you don't really know this," Jack said as he stared at Riley with subtle pride. "But you should never challenge Riley, or tell her that she can't do something. It usually ends with you eating your words while she celebrates by exposing all your dark secrets to the world."

"Jack, it sounds like you're speaking from experience," Riley commented without looking up from the screen.

"Yeah well, I don't like talking about it," Jack stated. Riley chuckled, then she looked up at Thornton.

"Look at this," Riley said, holding up Carter's phone. "The last number called was to a burner phone, and I bet once we run a trace on the number, we'll find it belongs to Hunter Christiansen. That's enough to at least bring him in for questioning, isn't it?" the hacker asked smugly.

"More than enough, if it does belong to him," Thornton agreed, looking at the young woman proudly.

"This is great and all," Jack piped up, looking at his young blond partner. "But could we get to a hospital sometime within the next week?"

Thornton nodded, motioning for her men to help MacGyver get up and into a car so they could get him to the hospital.

"Wait," MacGyver insisted, pushing against the men helping him. "Faith and Hope," he reminded Jack. Jack's eyes went wide and he glanced behind them, trying to figure out what had happened to the dear old women who had helped them.

"Them?" Riley asked, nodding towards the fleet of policemen coming towards them, with two women in the front. MacGyver felt a huge relief lift off his shoulders when he saw the older women.

"They're being taken to the hospital as well," Thornton informed him. "Don't worry," she assured him as he shot her a worried glance. "I think it's only to check up on them, make sure they're okay and treat them for potential shock."

MacGyver nodded slowly, the relief creeping back into his body.

"Let's get out of here," Thornton said.

 _ **So? Whatcha think? Not sure how OOC or IC Thornton is. *covers eyes with hands* I haven't seen her in so long I feel like I'm losing touch of my inner-Patty writing! :-0 And I dunno, I kinda felt like this chapter was a little choppy?**_

 _ **Oh, do not worry my friends! Next chapter is NOT the last one!**_

 _ **So like I said, this chapter is going up tonight, then tomorrow sometime (Probably after my class at 10:30), I'll get the next chapter out! :)**_

 _ **Also, not sure what I think about the beginning part either. Like, I honestly don't know what the police would do if the kidnappers would try to leave with hostages, but I just couldn't think of what to do...so...no hating? :D**_

 _ **Lemme know what you think!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**So I can officially say that this is the longest story that I have written! It honestly wasn't supposed to be this long, but it ran away and I had to follow XD It just felt weird to end it, it felt too abrupt, so that's why there are more chapters! So for now, enjoy this chapter! :D**_

 _ **Also, to the guest reviewer DogsDalton, can I just say thank you so much for your review? That was so so nice :) I'm so sorry though. I don't feel like I'm the best at writing romances as the main plot of a story, and I personally don't ship Mac/Riley, so I feel like the story wouldn't be given the right justice that you deserve :/ I'm so sorry!**_

"Well young man," Dr. Fife said as he flipped through Mac's charts. "I wish we'd have been able to get to your leg a little sooner," he admitted. "You've got a pretty nasty infection, but if you keep up on the antibiotics that you've been prescribed, things should start improving within a few days. You may have persisting symptoms for a few weeks, but just keep taking the medication," he instructed, staring over his glasses at the young man on the bed. "And whatever you do, do not scratch your leg, no matter how much it itches."

"Yessir," MacGyver replied tiredly. The medication they had coming through his IV was making him extremely tired, which he figured was the point.

A small knock sounded on the door, and both MacGyver and the doctor glanced over to see Hope and Faith standing in the doorway with grins on their faces.

"Ladies," Dr. Fife greeted. He gave each of them a quick hug as he walked out of the room. Once he was gone, the two women made their way to Mac's bedside.

"Hey," he greeted. "I'm really glad you two are okay," he said. "I'm sorry Jack and I dragged you into this mess," he apologized. Faith grasped his hand lightly in hers, patting it gently.

"We're glad you did," she told him.

"You're glad Jack and I had to barricade your house, collapse a tunnel, and get you guys held hostage?" MacGyver asked in clarification with a chuckle. Faith and Hope laughed as well.

"Well maybe not all of that," Hope conceded. "But we are very glad we were able to help however we could. We're also glad that we got to meet you two," she said with a smile.

"We'll make sure that whatever was broken in your house gets replaced," Mac promised. "Whatever was damaged. Make a list and get it to us; I'll personally see that it gets taken care of."

"You guys talking about me?" Jack asked as he came into the hospital room. His hand was wrapped up nice and snug, and he seemed to be doing alright.

"Always," MacGyver replied with a serious expression. Jack stared at his friend, and Mac soon cracked a smile.

"We were just talking about how we were glad to have met you," Faith filled Jack in.

"Well I'm just sorry it had to be under such crazy circumstances," Jack apologized, sounding very similar to what his younger partner had just said.

"Seriously though. You guys did amazing in there," Mac praised. Jack nodded in agreement.

"I've seen grown men lose their nerve in those types of situations, but you two were strong," Jack added.

"I was terrified," Hope admitted. MacGyver chuckled.

"What was it that you told Jack and me about telling the truth?" he asked with a light tone. Hope smacked his shoulder gently.

"I figured it was turnabout fair play," she responded with a wink. MacGyver laughed, but had to stop as he tried to stifle a yawn.

"We'll let you get some rest," Faith said, patting Mac's good knee gently. "But don't be strangers," she added as she and Hope turned to leave. "We want to see you sometime soon," she said, shaking a warning finger at the two of them.

"'Course we'll see you again," Jack promised. Faith and Hope smiled again, then walked out the door, stepping out of the way of Thornton with a quick 'excuse us.' Thornton smiled at the women, then walked in the room to speak with her agents.

"Hey," she said as she walked over to the pair.

"Hey," Mac muttered tiredly.

"I just thought I'd tell you that I've spoken with Dr. Fife, and we're taking you back home," she explained. "It'll just be another few hours, then we'll head out. We need to pick up Christiansen before we go, but as soon as he's in custody, we'll be on our way."

"Great," MacGyver said with a smile.

"Also, I figured that since I wouldn't be able to get you to stay at the hospital at the Foundation, I've gone ahead and requested that all medical prescriptions be sent to the pharmacy closest to your house. Jack," she said, turning her stern eye on him. "I want you to promise me that you'll make him stay in bed and recover."

"Yes ma'am," Jack said with a salute.

"Good. I'll see you guys after I talk with Riley. MacGyver," she warned. "Stay. In. That. Bed," she ordered.

"Well, they put my crutches just out of reach, so until I can get my IV line and a few parts from this heart monitor to create a grappling hook, I'm stuck," Mac said with a smirk. Thornton rolled her eyes, but Mac could see the humor in her eyes. She turned and strode out of the room, and MacGyver looked up at Jack.

"How's your head?" he asked.

"Just as hard as it's always been," Jack said, making a face at his friend. "No concussion, thankfully, if that's what you were wondering," Jack added. The older man sighed, then waggled his eyebrows at MacGyver.

"I'm starving," he stated. "You up for food?"

MacGyver smiled. _Typical Jack. We get out of a life and death situation, and the first moment he can, his mind turns to food. I guess being held hostage burns a lot of calories and energy though, and truth be told, he wasn't the only one who was hungry._

Mac nodded. "Yeah. Just a light sandwich for me though," he requested.

"Sure thing," Jack said as he walked out of the room. "Be back in a minute," he promised.

MacGyver sighed and leaned back in his bed. The pain in his leg was a memory thanks to the medication they had him on. Dr. Fife had stitched his leg up, and though the older man said that he hadn't seen a wound that bad since he worked on a patient who had been attacked by a bear, MacGyver had been assured that his leg would heal just fine. He may have a few scars, but Dr. Fife said that with time, and certain treatments, even scars could disappear as well. The only thing that really worried the doctor was the infection, but MacGyver promised him that he would take his medication and take it easy; he didn't want to have the infection get any worse. MacGyver was just happy that things were over.

A few minutes later, Jack walked back into the room carrying a plate with a sandwich on it, as well as a burger for himself. He handed the sandwich to MacGyver, who sat up and gladly began eating. They were both laughing and joking while they ate, so neither of them really paid attention to the nurse who came into the room until MacGyver saw his face when the nurse was right behind Jack. Mac's eyes widened, but before he could say anything to warn his friend, the nurse clocked Jack over the head, dropping the agent like a stone.

0-0-0

"Riley, you still got that trace on Christiansen's phone?" Thornton asked. "Let's go pick him up." They had run a search and found that the burner phone did indeed belong to Christiansen, so Thornton was eager to get him in custody.

"On it," Riley said, sitting down and pulling out her laptop. She opened it and hit a few buttons, then her forehead crinkled in confusion.

"What?" Thornton asked. "What's wrong?"

"Hunter's phone," Riley responded, hitting a few buttons to try and refresh the feed. She looked up at Thornton with a touch of fear in her eyes. "It says he's here in the hospital."

 _ **I'm not even going to apologize for the cliffie, I'm just going to run and hide! I told you guys this wouldn't be the last chapter... :D *commences running away***_

 _ **Honestly though, thoughts? You guys would let me know if you feel like it was dragging on, right?**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Thanks for no death threats! 'Twas a pleasant surprise! ;) But I'm glad you all seemed to like the twist :D Here's the next chapter, lemme know what you think!**_

 _ **Newp, still not mine**_

Thornton's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at Riley's declaration that Christiansen was in the hospital, and she immediately took off down the hallway for the elevator. "Lock this place down!" she ordered, turning back to Riley for a moment. Riley didn't respond; she was already hacking into the hospital's security system.

Thornton got on the phone, requesting all agents to spread out and cover all areas of the hospital while she was on the elevator, foot tapping impatiently. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, allowing Thornton to once more hurry down the hallway. As she neared Mac's room, she slowing to a stop and pulled out her gun. The nurses around her gasped and shrieked, but she didn't pay them any mind as she crept towards the closed door. She reached out and grasped the handle, shoving the door open and aiming her gun in the room. The sight that greeted her made her stomach drop.

Jack Dalton was on the floor, a burger dropped beside him, and MacGyver's bed was empty. She cleared the room quickly, then pulled out her phone. "MacGyver's gone," she said to the person on the other end of the call. "I repeat, MacGyver is gone. Search the whole hospital."

She hung up and called Riley as she bent down next to her unconscious agent. "Riley," she said. "Mac's gone. I need you to run a search through all the security feeds," she instructed. "Can you see where Christiansen is now?" she asked.

"Running the trace on his phone now, and running a search through the security cameras," Riley informed her boss. "Okay, got a lock on Hunter's phone. I can't get exact details, but I can tell you that he's still in the hospital," she said.

"Search any cameras close to Mac's room," Thornton ordered. "I need you to send out an alert to any agent here in the hospital to be on the lookout for Christiansen and Mac, especially any of the exits and entrances," she ordered. "Let me know as soon as you find anything; I need to check on Jack."

"Got it, boss," Riley confirmed. The two of them hung up and Thornton immediately made her way back to the older agent, who was just beginning to stir.

"Jack?" Thornton asked. "Jack, can you hear me?"

"Wh...wh't happen'd?" he slurred when he finally opened his eyes.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Thornton replied. "Mac's been taken," she stated. Jack's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, groaning and putting his hand to his head when his head disagreed with that decision.

"Taken?" he clarified.

"Unless this was some elaborate game of hide and seek that Mac really wanted to win," Thornton commented drily.

"Wish that was it," Jack muttered, looking around the room.

"What do you remember?" Thornton asked as Jack sat on the bed.

"Not much," the man admitted apologetically. "Mac and I were just talking, then there was a massive pain on my head. Waking up is the next thing I remember," he explained. Thornton's phone began ringing, and she picked it up immediately.

"Riley, please tell me you've got something," she implored.

"Long story short, I found a video of Mac being pushed in a wheelchair away from his room towards the elevator going down, so I canvassed the cameras at all the floors, and I found a feed only a few minutes old of Hunter pushing a wheelchair in the the southeast parking garage!" Riley said. "I've already alerted agents closest to there, and they're heading over right now."

"So am I," Thornton informed Riley. When she started to stand up, Jack grabbed her arm.

"I'm coming too," he stated.

"Jack, you need to get checked over by a doctor," Thornton said, shaking her head.

"What happened to Jack now?" Riley asked, still on the line. Thornton ignored the hacker for a moment as Jack continued his argument.

"Plenty of time to do that after we get Mac back," Jack insisted, standing up. He patted around his waist, suddenly realizing there was a familiar weight missing. "Patty, he took my gun," he informed his boss gravely.

"Riley?" Patricia said to the hacker.

"Already on it," Riley replied, seeming to read her boss's mind. "Just sent out an alert that Hunter is armed and dangerous."

"I'm on my way now," Thornton informed Riley. "Call if there's any major change before I get there."

"You got it," Riley said before hanging up.

"Patty, I'm comin' whether you like it or not," Jack informed his boss stubbornly. "So you can either let me come willingly and let me have a backup gun, or I can just go in unprotected. Potentially get Mac shot and/or killed," he added. Thornton rolled her eyes, but she couldn't waste any more time, so she pulled out her spare gun and handed it to Jack.

"Just don't shoot any of the good guys because you're unable to focus," she implored. Jack checked the magazine out of habit as he followed his boss down the hallway.

"Don't worry about me," he assured her.

"I'm taking the stairs," Thornton stated. They were only on the third floor of the hospital, and Thornton knew she could make it down three flights of stairs before the elevator would be able to make it down. "Jack, you take the elevator, come in behind him if you can."

"Are you just trying to get me to take it easy by riding the elevator?" he asked incredulously.

"Jack, stop arguing with me!" Thornton ordered. Jack shook his head, but he did go for the elevator while Thornton took the stairs.

 _0-0-0_

 _A Few Minutes Earlier_

Christiansen shut the door quickly, then lunged for MacGyver, who had reached for the 'call' button. The politician grabbed Mac's hand before he could press it, twisting it around so that MacGyver had to let go of the button with a yelp. Hunter pulled on Mac's arm, yanking him out of the bed and depositing the kid on the floor with a thud. MacGyver grunted as he made contact with the hard floor.

Hunter grabbed a wheelchair from the corner of the room and dragged it over. He set it up, then grabbed MacGyver, who was trying to use the bed to climb back up. He grabbed the kid by the shoulders and lifted him into the chair. MacGyver was surprised by the amount of upper-body strength the politician had.

Hunter wrestled with MacGyver to keep the young man in the wheelchair as he pulled out zipties. MacGyver was putting up quite a fight, and he actually began to get away from Hunter. In frustration, Hunter kicked Mac's injured leg, and the young man immediately stopped struggling. He groaned and leaned forward to try and grab at his leg, but Hunter pressed him back into the chair, securing his wrists to the arms of the wheelchair with zip ties.

"Cheap...shot," Mac grunted out painfully, glaring at Christiansen in loathing. The politician shrugged.

"No one ever said I had to play fair," he pointed out. "Now," he said, walking over to Jack's unconscious body and taking his gun out of his holster. "You're going to behave yourself, yes?" he asked sweetly.

"Probably not, no," Mac shot back.

"That is unfortunate," Hunter said as he cocked the hammer on Jack's weapon. "Because any attempt to call for help will end with that person's untimely demise, as well as anyone else who is around to hear," Christiansen threatened as he set the gun in MacGyver's lap, then covered it with a blanket.

"You're willing to kill doctors and nurses?" MacGyver asked dubiously. "You couldn't even kill Jack and I the first time; you sent Carter and his men do it!"

"Well, it's like that old saying goes. If you want something done, and your men are apparently too stupid to do it," Christiansen said, pausing to bend down and zip tie MacGyver's good leg to the footstand on the chair. MacGyver noticed that Christiansen didn't secure his injured leg, which immediately sent his brain into overdrive, thinking of different ways he could use that to his advantage.

"Maybe rethink who you hire?" Mac finished snarkily, tugging on the restraints in a vain effort to get away.

"You've got a smart mouth, kid," Hunter growled as he straightened back up.

"Got a smarter brain," MacGyver informed the politician. The agent could see Hunter's fist opening and closing in an attempt to remain calm.

"We are going to take a walk. You are going to sit there and act like a good patient, and if you don't do anything stupid, no one else has to get hurt," he explained as he wheeled the chair over to the door. He opened it and pushed MacGyver out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door again before he began walking down the hallway towards the elevator.

MacGyver knew his options were limited with his hands tied to the wheelchair, and he didn't want to take the gamble of Hunter's threat to kill whoever Mac tried to warn. He glanced around, noticing a security camera blinking at him. He stared intently at the camera, mouthing the word "help" over and over again until they passed out of the camera's sight.

Christiansen pushed the call elevator button, and the two of them waited for the doors to open. While they were waiting, they both noticed another nurse coming down the hallway towards them. "Not a word," Hunter muttered as he plastered a smile on his face.

"Howdy," the nurse greeted.

"Hey," Christiansen replied. MacGyver gave a slight nod and a tight smile as his greeting. The nurse stared at Hunter for a minute.

"I'm sorry, you look really familiar," he said. "Have we met?"

"I mean, it's a hospital. I'm sure we've crossed paths on an occasion or two," Hunter replied with a chuckle.

"Maybe," the nurse said, trying to study Christiansen's face. The elevator dinged, and Hunter immediately pushed the wheelchair into the elevator car.

"Sorry, we've really gotta be going," he apologized to the nurse. The doors closed, and Hunter patted Mac on the shoulder. "Good job, kid," he praised. "Maybe no one else'll have to get hurt after all!"

"You realize if you do this, your career is over, right?" Mac pointed out as the elevator began descending.

"It was over the minute that idiot Carter got himself caught in a hostage situation," the politician growled. "I knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught, and I knew the burner number on his phone could be traced to me. But with you, I have the chance to get away, get a new start," he said.

"You can't think that people aren't gonna notice something's weird at an airport?" Mac asked, jerking on his arms to emphasize. "You got lucky the nurse wasn't paying enough attention to me to notice the zip ties. Other people are going to be more observant."

"That's why we're not going to a public airport," Hunter sneered as the doors opened, revealing the parking garage. "There are some great perks to being a well-known politician. People owe you favors. One of the men who owes me a favor happens to own a jet, and he is waiting to fly us to a non-extradition country. Once we're there, maybe I'll let you go," he mused.

"No you won't," Mac said in an almost bored-sounding voice. He knew there was no way he was going to survive if he actually got on that plane with the politician.

"You're right," Hunter agreed.

"So why not just kill me now and get it over with?"

"Really?" Hunter asked, sounding disappointed. "First of all, you're just my getaway ticket. As long as I've got you, people aren't gonna try anything stupid."

"You could have just said I'm a hostage," Mac pointed out drily. "Y'know, like I was less than six hours ago, when your man Carter botched the job? Remember how well taking hostages worked out for him?"

"Okay, it's time for you to stop talking now," Christiansen said crankily. MacGyver saw a small pothole coming up in the parking lot, and his brain immediately came up with a plan.

 _Usually I wouldn't be this happy to see a pothole, I admit. I may be into weird things, but potholes are not one of them. Also gotta say...I know this is gonna hurt really bad, and it might not even work, but someone has to have noticed that something's wrong by now, so if I can get even just a few seconds of stalling, maybe someone will catch up with us._

"I could stop talking," Mac admitted, preparing himself for the pain that would be assaulting his leg soon. "Or I could do this."

He timed it just right, and he put his unbound, injured foot down in the pothole. The wheelchair flipped over, throwing Christiansen off-balance. MacGyver tried to keep his head high to keep it from hitting the pavement. That worked, but unfortunately, his shoulder took the full weight of his body as the chair came to a rest, a few feet away from the pothole. The blanket came off of Mac's lap, and he heard the gun clattering away. He was slightly shocked the weapon didn't go off. Grateful, but shocked.

MacGyver grit his teeth as the pain assaulted his leg, which was screaming at him for being such a dummy. His shoulder was now adding in its cries of protest as well. Mac stared sideways as Christiansen got up from where he had tripped, coming over to Mac with a murderous look in his eyes.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he growled.

"What're you gonna do?" Mac challenged from the ground. "Kill me? We both know you won't do that, at least not until you're out of the country," he reminded the politician.

"I might not be able to kill you just yet," Hunter agreed. "But I can cause you more pain than you've ever felt before," he added.

"Are we talking physical or emotional? Because I've been hit pretty hard in both categories, and I'd like to see you try and top either of those experiences," Mac snarked. Hunter smirked and crouched down, grabbing Mac's leg with both hands and squeezing. MacGyver squeezed his eyes and mouth shut, digging his forehead into the asphalt of the parking garage.

"How'm I doing so far?" Hunter asked cruelly. The pain and pressure continued for a moment longer, but before long, Hunter and Mac heard a car door open, and a familiar voice called out,

"Mr. MacGyver?"

Mac and Hunter both looked up to see Faith and Hope standing by their running car, peering out from behind the car doors. The two women realized what was going on, and Christiansen knew he had been caught. His eyes flicked to the side where the gun had fallen, and MacGyver knew he had to get the women out of there.

"Faith, Hope, go now!" he shouted. Hope jumped back in the driver's seat as Christiansen dove for the gun, which had fallen a little more than five feet away from MacGyver. Hunter grabbed the gun and immediately straightened and turned around, intending to aim and fire the weapon at the two old women. Before he had the chance to pull the trigger though, Hope's car hit him. It wasn't a hard hit, the car couldn't have even been going more than five-to-seven mph, but it was still enough to send the politician sprawling on his butt. Mac's face split into a grin despite the pain he was feeling as Hope put her car in park and she and Faith hurried over to him.

The doors to the stairwell burst open, and Phoenix agents poured through the doorway. Patricia was among the agents that poured through, and Riley came through the door a few moments later, slinging her backpack onto her shoulder.

"Mac!" a shout came from behind. MacGyver recognized the voice of his older partner immediately, and he felt relief wash through him as he realized his friend was alright.

"Mac!" the young hacker yelled, hurrying over to her friend. She and Jack reached Mac at almost the exact same time.

"Dude, what were you thinking?!" Jack asked, trying to stay calm as he cut the zip ties binding his friend's wrists to the arms of the wheelchair.

"Thinking?" panted MacGyver. "You mean when I didn't fight back against Christiansen after he threatened to kill anyone I talked to, or when I jammed my leg into the pothole to stall for time?" he asked snarkily.

His leg felt like it had lightning firing through it, and his shoulder felt like it had been rubbed raw through the thin hospital clothing. He glanced down and realized that it actually had been rubbed raw. The cloth covering the his shoulder had ripped, and his left shoulder had a nasty road rash on it.

"Both!" Jack replied, gently pulling his friend up. Hope righted the wheelchair, then looked at Jack.

"He's probably going to actually want to sit in this," she said, noticing how pale and shaky the blond looked.

"Good call," Jack agreed, easing MacGyver into the upright wheelchair.

An agent hauled Christiansen to his feet, and Faith walked over to him. "You're the man behind all this?" she asked crossly. Hunter didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. "Shame on you," she said, slapping him across the cheek. Patricia's eyebrows raised in amusement, but she didn't do anything to stop it.

Hope followed her sister up to the politician as well. Once her sister moved away from him, Hope slapped his other cheek. "We'll be sending you the bill for everything damaged in our home during the attack from your men," she informed him coldly.

"Yeah, well you hit me with your car," Hunter griped at her as his hands were cuffed behind his back. "I'm gonna bring a lawsuit against you so big it'll take your grandchildren years to pay it off!" he threatened.

"Hit you with their car?" Mac asked from the wheelchair. "I didn't see that," he informed Christiansen smugly. "Did anyone see it?" he asked, looking around at the Phoenix agents in the parking garage. A chorus of 'no's' emitted from everyone, and Thornton looked at Christiansen with a smug look of satisfaction.

"The security tapes will prove everything," he insisted pompously. Thornton raised her eyebrows once more in amusement as she glanced at Riley.

"Will they now?" Riley asked as she pulled out her computer. "Hmm...because that's not what they're showing me," she replied. She hit a few keys on her keyboard, then after a moment, she turned her laptop around so Hunter could see what was on the screen.

Everyone watched as the tapes showed Christiansen wheeling MacGyver through the garage. They watched MacGyver trip the both of them, and the next thing the tapes showed was Christiansen on the ground while Hope was hurrying over to MacGyver with her sister.

"From what it looks like," Riley said. "These two women saw someone in need of help and they stopped their car to get out and see what they could do," she said with a smirk. Hunter's face looked like a chilli pepper and he sputtered, trying to come up with an argument as he was led over to a car that had just pulled up. Thornton walked over to the car as he was loaded into it.

"You know, if you really wanted to play in my league," Thornton said before the door was shut on Christiansen. "You really should have gotten a team that's qualified to play against my people."

The door shut on the politician's angry face and the car drove away. Thornton turned to her team. MacGyver was sitting in the wheelchair. He was pale, shaky, and sweaty, but triumphant-looking. Jack and Riley were standing on either side of him, and Faith and Hope were behind the wheelchair. They all seemed to be unconsciously forming a protective circle around their injured friend. Thornton smiled slightly and walked over to them.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble, can I?" she asked with half-fake exasperation.

"Guess not," MacGyver replied with a smirk.

"Well, something tells me we should probably get you checked out. Again," Thornton said, shaking her head in mild disbelief and amusement.

"Definitely," Jack agreed.

"Traitor," MacGyver muttered.

"Always," Jack said pleasantly as he pushed the wheelchair back towards the elevator. "Let's try to avoid crazy, homicidal politicians this go-round though, yeah?" he suggested. MacGyver laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I can agree to that," he said as the elevator doors closed and they began their ascent up to the main floor of the hospital.

 _ **So? Sorry the action only lasted a chapter longer :/ It just felt right... Unfortunately, I think this story only has one or two more chapters, but worry not :) I've got plenty more stories in the works :)**_

 _ **What did you all think?**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Aw, last chapter :( I've had fun with this story, even when it ran away from me cackling like a madman. It was fun to chase it and see where it wanted to go, which leads to the last chapter in Faith, Hope, and Charity... Let me know if you find any mistakes!**_

 _ **Longer AN at the bottom :)**_

 _ **Not mine**_

"I'm fine!" Jack insisted, waving everyone off of him. "I'm not the one that got kidnapped _again_ and taken on a fun wheelchair ride," he reminded Dr. Fife, staring pointedly at MacGyver.

"Maybe not, but you _are_ the one who got hit twice in the head within the past seven hours," Mac pointed out. Dr. Fife finished his examination and wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Well, you didn't have a concussion before, but after that last hit you took to your head, you definitely have one now," the doctor informed his patient. "You just need to take it easy for a few days," Dr. Fife started. Jack held up his hand, giving the doctor a small wave.

"I know how," Jack said. "Unfortunately this isn't my first time having a concussion. I know how to take care of it," he admitted. He probably should have sounded more ashamed, but he didn't.

"That's...not very safe," Dr. Fife said, giving Jack an odd look.

"I know," Jack agreed. "But in our line of work, it's just kind of an everyday risk," he explained.

"Only if you insist on headbutting everyone you come into contact with," Mac shot at his friend. Dr. Fife looked like he wanted to lecture Jack a little more, but Thornton walked into the examination room.

"Alright," she said. "Mac, Jack, are you guys ready to go?" she asked.

"Born ready," Jack said, hopping off the examination table. He swayed a little when his feet touched the floor, and the doctor put a steadying hand on his patient's arm.

"You sure about that?" MacGyver asked with a laugh.

"Yes I'm sure," Jack said, gaining his balance back before shooting an annoyed look at his partner, who was still sitting in the wheelchair.

"Well ma'am," Dr. Fife said as her agents began making their way out the door. "Mr. Dalton has a concussion, but as long as he takes it easy, I wouldn't be too worried unless the problem persists," he explained. "I also cleaned out Mr. MacGyver's shoulder wound and got the tiny pieces of gravel out from his unexpected tumble. As long as that stays clean, he stays off his leg as much as possible, and he takes the medication for the infection that I've prescribed, he should be good to go within a few weeks."

"Thank you for all your help, Dr. Fife," Patricia said, shaking the man's hand.

"My pleasure," he said sincerely. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must see to my other patients," he added politely, gently squeezing past Jack out the door.

"Are we coming at a bad time?" a sweet voice asked. Everyone looked at the door, and Mac had a moment of deja vu as he saw Faith and Hope standing there.

"Not at all," Jack said with a grin. "We were just getting ready to leave, but Mac and I wanted to say one last goodbye before we did, so you're right on time."

Jack bent down and gave the two women a giant hug, and when they broke apart, the two women moved over to MacGyver and each gently gave him a hug, doing their best to avoid his shoulder.

"Thank you," Mac said as they separated.

"It wasn't anything you didn't do for us," Hope said, smiling at him sweetly.

"And don't even think about using that line about how we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you two," Faith scolded lightly as MacGyver opened his mouth. He smiled and shut his mouth, humouring the little old women standing in front of him.

"Hey guys," Riley said as she walked into the room as well.

"It's getting to be a party in here," Jack said, waggling his eyebrows. "Anybody feeling like ordering a pizza?"

Thornton rolled her eyes before turning to the young hacker. "Everything ready?" she asked.

"Just got off the phone with the pilot. They're waiting to fly us back whenever we're ready," Riley replied.

"Young lady," Hope said, looking at Riley with admiration and gratitude. "What you did with those security tapes back there was just incredible," she gushed. Riley looked a little embarrassed as she replied.

"It wasn't anything, really," she insisted. "Because I mean, that would not be cool, tampering with security tapes," she added, pretending to be serious. Hope chuckled and tapped the side of her nose knowingly.

"I understand dear," she replied. "That wouldn't be 'cool' at all," she agreed. Before Riley could do or say anything else, Hope embraced the young woman, squeezing her tight. Riley looked like she didn't know what to do for a moment, but finally she gave in and hugged the woman back.

"How come you're never this nice to us?" Jack complained teasingly. Riley stuck her tongue out at him.

"Now now," Faith said with a twinkle in her eye. "No need to fight over us. There's plenty of us to go around," she assured everyone. The three agents laughed, and even Thornton cracked a smile.

"I hate to break this up," Thornton said after a few more moments of the group laughing and joking. "But we really do have to go. Christiansen is in custody and waiting for us at the airstrip, but I'm not comfortable leaving him out of my sight for very long," she explained.

Faith and Hope nodded in understanding. They turned to give the agents each one last hug. "Now, don't be strangers," Faith warned, shaking her finger at them.

"Never," Mac promised.

"We'll be back," Jack agreed.

"Maybe you could come out for Christmas or Thanksgiving!" Hope suggested suddenly with a bright smile.

"That would be fun," Riley agreed, smiling back at the women.

"We'll plan on you then," Faith said excitedly.

"But maybe next time try not to bring any kidnappers to our door?" Hope requested with a wink.

"We'll do our best," MacGyver assured her with a chuckle. The two women said their goodbyes and walked out the door.

Jack got behind Mac's chair and began pushing him.

"Jack, I can do that if you want," Riley offered.

"I am fine!" Jack insisted incredulously. "I can still function with a concussion. I've had them before," he reminded them.

"And you can barely function when you don't have a concussion," Riley shot at the older man with a smirk. Thornton ignored the two of them as she pushed the call button for the elevator. Jack's mouth hit the floor at Riley's insult.

"I dare you to replicate even one of the amazing shots I've taken, whether concussed or not" he challenged her as they all got on the elevator. The doors shut and began descending to the main floor, where a car was waiting just outside the entrance to take them to their exfil site.

"Are we talking shots with a gun or shots of tequila?" Riley teased. "Cuz I would waste you in the latter," she informed him smugly.

"Oh it is on," Jack muttered as the elevator doors opened again and the group exited the elevator.

"Jack, this is a direct order: Don't get drunk," Thornton said sternly. Jack pouted slightly, and Riley laughed.

"But Riley-" Jack started, but Thornton cut him off.

"Who's the more mature adult here?" she asked.

"I think that would be you or me," MacGyver cut up with a grin. Jack swerved the wheelchair a little bit, only causing Mac to laugh as his point was proven. They all climbed in the car, Jack helping MacGyver up into the shotgun seat.

"Why do you get shotgun again?" Jack asked in fake annoyance.

"I dunno, maybe it's because I need _leg room_ so that my leg doesn't get any more injured than it already is," Mac explained snarkily. "Also, you always keep the chair pushed back so far my legs are cramped when I sit in the back as it is," he added.

"Well can I drive?" Jack asked. Thornton shook her head emphatically. "Why?" Jack whined.

"Jack, you've got a concussion!" Mac pointed out.

"I've driven with a concussion before!" the older man argued.

"Yeah, but now we've got someone at the wheel who doesn't have a concussion, so why would we let you drive when Patricia is completely capable?"

"Ladies," Thornton said in a light warning tone. Jack grumbled a bit, but he got in the seat behind shotgun without any more verbal complaints. Patricia climbed in the driver's seat, started the car, and drove off, merging into traffic.

They had been driving a few minutes when Thornton's phone began ringing. She picked it up and glanced at the caller ID before she hit 'Accept.'

"Go," she said. As she listened, MacGyver looked back at Jack and Riley, the three of them wondering what the call could be about. "Thank you," she said after another minute before hanging up the phone.

"What was that about?" Jack asked. Thornton looked in the rearview mirror.

"We've got someone to testify against Christiansen," she answered.

"That's great!" Jack said happily. "Who is it?"

"They said his name is Dennis," Thornton responded.

"Dennis?" Mac asked in clarification. "That was the guy driving the car I was in," he explained. "Is he getting some sort of special deal for cooperating?"

"Apparently his little brother was another one of the drivers. Colin, I think they said is what his name was," she explained.

"Yeah, from what I remember, he was the driver of the car Faith and Hope were in," Mac said. "I thought Dennis looked upset when Carter mentioned that he didn't really care if the car Colin was driving got caught."

"So what, he's willing to testify just to spite Carter and Hunter?" Jack asked.

"I was told that he said he was mad at how willing Carter was to just let his brother get caught, how easily he brushed it off."

"So he realized that he and basically everyone else on his crew was disposable at the right price," Jack thought out loud. "Interesting. Wonder if we can convince the rest of the criminal population of that," he added.

"That's not the only reason he's doing it," Thornton informed them. "He wants to see if his brother can get a reduced sentence, since it was his first time doing anything like this," she explained. "I told the police to let him know that we can make no guarantees, but that we will do what we can to make sure his brother is treated fairly."

"So Christiansen's gonna get what's coming to him," Riley said triumphantly. It wasn't a question; it was a victorious statement.

"Not bad for a day's work," Jack said, leaning back and interlacing his fingers behind his head on the headrest of the seat.

"Hey, you're not the one who got their leg caught in a trap!" Mac said indignantly.

"You're right," Jack agreed, sounding slightly smug. Mac rolled his eyes, but it was only a few seconds later that he heard something hard hit something else hard, and Jack yelped. Mac looked behind him with mild interest in his eyes, wondering what had just happened. Jack was sitting there rubbing his arm while Riley casually observed her nails.

"Ow," Jack whined.

"Thanks Riley," Mac said with a laugh.

"I gotcha covered," Riley said with a nod. MacGyver inconspicuously glanced at their boss, and he saw her give her head a small shake while a smile ghosted across her face. Mac listened to Jack and Riley bickering in the back seat about different things, ranging from how hard Riley could hit, to the technicalities and finesse it took to hack something. MacGyver leaned back in his seat slightly, closing his eyes and resting his head on the headrest.

 _Did today kind of suck? Yes. Yes it did. Getting my leg caught in a trap is not my ideal way to spend my time, but hey. We caught the bad guy and got one of his men to testify against him. Maybe we can get some of the other men to testify now too. Plus we made a few new friends. I guess those event level the playing field a little bit. And hey, if we do decide to take up Faith and Hope on their offer for a holiday meal, there's an 88% chance that nothing will go wrong. I'm good to take those odds any day of the year._

 ** _So, as we come to the end of the retelling (Which, like the last 4 chapters were totally different from the actual original ep) I just am curious as to what you guys think!_**

 ** _Also, I currently have 3 other stories in the works, but I am always taking prompts if you guys want to give them :)_**

 ** _I'm also not sure when I'll get to post next, one of my really good friends is getting married this weekend in my hometown so I'm going down home on Friday, meaning I probably won't have time to write :( I'll bring my computer just in case, hopefully I will be able to write a little bit, but I'm not sure when I'll start to post the next story._**

 ** _Thanks so much for coming along with me on this ride! It's been a blast :D_**


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